PATNA: Bihar CM Nitish Kumar will resign Monday to clear the way for a new NDA government, a senior JD(U) functionary said Saturday. Nitish is expected to chair the last cabinet meeting of the outgoing government, then head to Raj Bhavan to submit his resignation to the governor.After returning, he will attend JD(U)’s meeting of its 85 newly elected legislators. A separate meeting of NDA legislators will follow, though time and venue are yet to be fixed. BJP, which has emerged as NDA’s largest bloc with 89 legislators, is likely to issue a formal statement on government formation Sunday or Monday.Sources said NDA legislators will elect Nitish as their leader soon after BJP’s announcement. A senior NDA official said the oath ceremony will “most probably” be on Wednesday or Thursday.Patna saw steady political traffic at Nitish’s home from early morning. Union minister and LJP(RV) president Chirag Paswan met Nitish to discuss the new dispensation. More than two dozen senior functionaries from NDA allies, including Union minister Lalan Singh, called on him.JDU ministers meet Shah, discuss government formation and portfolios All five NDA constituents – BJP, JDU, LJP(RV), HAM(S) and RLM – began govt-formation exercises on Saturday. Strategic discussions ran through the day in New Delhi and Patna.In Delhi, JDU national working president Sanjay Kumar Jha and Union minister Rajiv Ranjan alias Lalan Singh met Union home minister Amit Shah, and are widely believed to have discussed portfolio-sharing and the new govt structure. “Bihar’s voters have expressed faith in good governance… The state’s people have the most trust in Nitish Kumar,” Jha told reporters.Besides Lalan Singh, those who called on Nitish included JDU’s Jha, party minister Vijay Kumar Choudhary, former minister Shyam Rajak, BJP ministers Nitin Nabin and Krishna Kumar Mantoo, and JDU state president Umesh Singh Kushwaha. Jha and Lalan Singh held further discussions with Nitish before leaving for the national capital to brief Shah.Elsewhere in Patna, Union minister of state for home Nityanand Rai met RLM president Upendra Kushwaha and his four MLAs. After the meeting, Rai said NDA had scored a “massive victory” and the opposition Mahagathbandhan has been “wiped out”, crediting the alliance’s sweep to collective effort.
