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Senior Janata Dal-United leader Nitish Kumar arrived in New Delhi on Tuesday evening with lawmakers of his party, the Rashtriya Janata Dal, the Congress, Communist Party of India and an Independent, intending to parade them before President Pranab Mukherjee at the Rashtrapati Bhawan in a show of majority support to form a government.
"It is more than 24 hours and no decision has come from the Bihar governor in regard to our claim to form the government. The majority is in our favour and we will request the President of India about it. We will take our MLAs to him around 2.15 pm tomorrow (Wednesday)," Nitish told reporters at the Patna airport.
Kumar, who ruled the state as the chief minister from 2005 to mid-2014 and was again elected the leader of JD-U legislature party on Monday, said the delay on part of Governor Keshri Nath Tripathi vitiates the atmosphere and promotes horse-trading.
"The delay should not happen. We have staked our claim for government formation and given everything in writing to the governor. We have presented the MLAs in our support in person. We want that constitutional values should be upheld and no wrong measures should be adopted for government formation," he added.
Kumar, who has claimed a support of 130 MLAs, left by an Indigo Airlines flight with around 60 MLAs. Around an equal number of MLAs left for Delhi on an earlier flight by the same airliner. All the legislators will put up at a five-star hotel in Noida in Uttar Pradesh after disembarking at New Delhi airport.
The former chief minister was accompanied by senior leaders and former ministers of his party including Vijay Kumar Chaudhary, Shrawan Kumar, Rajiv Ranjan Singh 'Lallan', P K Shahi and Damodar Raut.
JD-U state president Vashistha Narayan Singh led the first batch of legislators to Delhi. The Congress MLAs were led by Sadanand Singh, leader of the Congress legislature party, while RJD MLAs were led by their chief whip Bhai Virendra.
RJD legislature party leader Abdul Bari Siddiqui and MLA Raghvendra Prasad Singh could not take the flight as they were away from Patna. They will take an afternoon flight for Delhi on Wednesday.
Senior JD-U leader Vijay Kumar Chaudhary said, "The decision on government formation (by the Governor) could not be delayed indefinitely. The governor is not conducting a floor test in the assembly. Injustice is being meted out to us."
"Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi has been declared an unattached member of the assembly and the present government has become completely illegal. We will apprise the President of all this and produce the MLAs there to show that the majority is in our favour," Chaudhary said.
The MLAs were shepherded by senior leaders of their parties, who marked their attendance, handed over boarding passes to them, and led them to the terminal. Women MLAs were accompanied by their husbands, relatives or personal assistants.
Image: JD-U leader Nitish Kumar arrives at Delhi airport
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