Nitish Kumar's Janata Dal United (JDU) is confident that the party's president will win the crucial floor test scheduled for Monday, two weeks after he broke off his alliance with the RJD to form a government with the BJP.
JD(U) national secretary Rajiv Ranjan Prasad expressed confidence that the party will secure a majority under Nitish Kumar's leadership and complete its tenure. The trust vote is expected to take place after Kumar was sworn in as Bihar's chief minister for a record ninth time.
Amidst the political uncertainty, a heavy security presence was visible around the residence of the Leader of the Opposition in the Bihar Assembly, Tejashwi Yadav, in Patna. The Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) alleged that police personnel attempted to enter Yadav's residence to orchestrate incidents against party MLAs.
The RJD asserted that it will not yield in the ongoing ideological struggle and condemned the actions of Nitish Kumar and the police. The party accused them of surrounding Yadav's residence and attempting to intimidate the MLAs.
Responding to the RJD's allegations, BJP leader Shahnawaz Hussain stated that the police were merely fulfilling their duties. He added that if MLAs were kidnapped or held against their will, the police would intervene. Hussain also denied claims of missing MLAs from the BJP or JD(U), stating that the Opposition was spreading rumors.
In January, Nitish Kumar, reportedly upset at not being named the convenor of the Opposition bloc INDIA, had ended his alliance with the RJD and the national coalition to form a new government with the support of the BJP-led NDA. The JD(U) has 45 MLAs in the House, while the BJP and Hindustani Awam Morcha-Secular (HAM-S) have 79 and 4 legislators, respectively. With the support of an Independent MLA, the NDA has 128 MLAs, compared to the Mahagathbandhan's 115. To secure a majority, the ruling alliance requires 122 votes.