Amid possibility of a significant political realignment in Bihar in the run-up to the 2014 lok Sabha elections, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar won the trust motion he moved at a special session of the Assembly on Wednesday to prove his majority by getting support of four Congress members.
Kumar had sought vote of confidence after he snapped his ties with the BJP last Sunday as his party JD(U) fell short of four members for a simple majority in the 243-member Assembly.All 91 BJP members were not present in the House when the motion was put to vote after more than three hour long debate. BJP members staged a walk out from the House as soon as leader of Opposition Nand Kishore Prasad Yadav made his remarks on the Confidence Motion.
A total of 126 members including 117 members from JD (U), four from Congress, one from CPI and four Independents voted in favour of the Confidence Motion while altogether 24 members including 22 from RJD and two Independents voted against it. JD (U) has 118 members including Speaker in the state assembly.
Bihar Congress President Ashok Choudhary said that the Congress supported the JD (U) in the vote of confidence with a view to strengthen the secular forces.He said that the Congress had been opposing Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi since 2010 but the JD (U) has taken the same line after three years.
The Congress welcomes Nitish KumarRss decision to snap ties with the BJP but the support to the JD (U) in the vote of confidence should not be construed as an indication to the emergence of any new political equations between Congress and JD (U), he added. State JD (U) President Vashishtha Narayan Singh said that the Congress extended its support to the JD (U) as the party is very much convinced with his party's secular credentials and the state governmentRss performance.
"Since the Congress members can not vote on the same line what BJP members have taken, they opted for voting in favour of the confidence motion," he reasoned.He said that he does not consider that the Congress support to the government indicates any growing proximity between the JD (U) and the Congress.
He also criticised BJP members for staging walk out from the state assembly and not listening to the speech made by Nitish Kumar in the House."BJP members should have also participated in the voting," he added.