Bihar crisis: Patna HC stays Nitish Kumar's election as JD-U legislature party chief

In a major setback for former Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, the Patna High Court on Wednesday termed his re-election as JD-U legislative party leader unconstitutional.

The high court passed its order in response to a petition filed by Bihar Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi's loyalist JD-U MLA Rajeshwar Raj challenging Nitish kumar's re-election as illegal.

In his petition, Raj had contended that JD-U chief Sharad Yadav had illegally summoned a legislature party meeting which elected Nitish Kumar as its new leader.

Manjhi had also termed Yadav's decision to call the meeting as illegal and questioned the re-election of the former chief minister as the new leader of Janata Dal-United legislature party.

Bihar's ruling JD-U later expelled Manjhi from the party for six years on disciplinary grounds.

In a dramatic turn of events, Nitish Kumar and his supporters met Bihar Governor KN Tripathi and informed him that Manjhi no longer enjoyed support of majority MLAs so he should be immediately removed as Chief Minister of Bihar.

Kumar, who is in Delhi with 130 supporting MLAs of his party, RJD, Congress, one CPI and an Independent to parade them before President today, has questioned the delay by Governor Kesari Nath Tripathi in inviting him to form the government.

"The way a decision is being delayed is a clear indication that purchasing of MLAs is being done at the behest of the Centre. Intention is clear and this is to not allow formation of the majority government. We will tell the President that this will only encourage horse-trading," he told reporters.

Kumar said his party and allies will impress upon the President on the need to take a quick action in the matter. Delaying the matter is only adding to the uncertainty and
vitiating the political atmosphere in Bihar, he said.

Kumar had staked claim before Tripathi on February 9 to form a government even though incumbent Manjhi, who has been sacked from the party, insisted that he too enjoyed support of a majority of MLAs.

Whatever is happening in the state is against democratic and constitutional norms, he said.