"Everybody Intact In NDA": Key BJP Ally Ahead Of Crucial Bihar Floor Test

Ahead of the floor test on Monday, where chief minister Nitish Kumar will have to prove his majority after he ditched the Mahagathbandhan, Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) leader Jitan Ram Manjhi said that all MLAs (BJP, JD-U, HAM) will be present tomorrow and PM Modi has done a good job by bringing CM Nitish Kumar into his team.

"Everybody is intact in NDA. We have 128 members and this figure may increase because today everybody holds PM Modi's leadership in high regard. He has done a very good job by bringing Nitish Kumar with him. Our experiment will be successful on 40 Lok Sabha seats in Bihar. All MLAs (BJP, JD-U, HAM) will be present tomorrow," he said.

Notably, the trust vote of the Nitish Kumar-led government in Bihar is scheduled for February 12. Nitish Kumar, earlier this month, had dumped the Mahagathbandhan (grand alliance) and the INDIA bloc to form a new government with the support of the BJP in Bihar.

Bihar Deputy CM Samrat Chaudhary arrived at Deputy CM Vijay Kumar Sinha's residence in Patna.

Meanwhile, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) MP Manoj Jha said that to remove the Speaker of the Assembly, the JD-U and BJP need the votes of half the total members, i.e., out of the 243 members in the Bihar Vidhan Sabha, the NDA will need 122 votes.

Bihar assembly speaker Awadh Bihari Choudhary, an RJD leader, is facing a no-confidence motion after several leaders from the BJP-led NDA sought his removal.

"From Article 179(c) of the Indian Constitution, as interpreted by the Supreme Court in the Nabam Rebia case, it is clear that to remove the Speaker, you need the votes of half of the total members of the Assembly. This means that out of 243 members, you will need 122 votes to pass the motion to remove the Speaker," Manoj Jha said.

After days of speculation, JD-U chief Nitish Kumar resigned as the Chief Minister of Bihar on January 28, his second volte face in less than 18 months. 

Snapping ties with the RJD and Congress, Nitish formed a government with BJP's support, and took oath as Bihar's CM for ninth time.

Nitish Kumar cited the state of affairs being "not right" under the Mahagathbandhan as his reason for quitting. 

He said that he has been receiving suggestions from everywhere, including his party workers, and he listened to all of them to come to this decision.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)