![[File] Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar interacts with Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge and party leader Rahul Gandhi | PTI](https://img.theweek.in/content/dam/week/news/india/images/2023/5/22/kharge-rahul-nitish-pti.jpg.image.340.191.jpg "[File] Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar interacts with Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge and party leader Rahul Gandhi | PTI")
A political storm is brewing in Bihar with Chief Minister Nitish Kumar is reportedly set to break alliance with the RJD and the Congress and join the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance.
The developments that come just a few months ahead of the Lok Sabha elections due in April-May have left the grand alliance in Bihar on the brink of collapse and the opposition INDIA bloc on tenterhooks.
The JD(U) has 45 MLAs in the 243-member state assembly and Nitish’s exit would mean that the Mahagathbandhan would fall eight members short of majority.
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JD(U) general secretary K.C. Tyagi even said the INDIA alliance, formed to take on the BJP at the national level, is on the brink of collapse.
"We had succeeded in bringing all non-Congress parties together but the (alliance) is falling apart. In Punjab and Bihar, the alliance has nearly collapsed. Similarly, in West Bengal, the alliance is falling apart. Meanwhile, in Uttar Pradesh, Akhilesh Yadav has asked Congress to work with an open heart," Tyagi said.
The opposition grouping had suffered major setbacks earlier this week with the Trinamool Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party announcing that they would go it alone in the Lok Sabha elections in West Bengal and Punjab, respectively.
Tyagi said Kumar never hankered after any position in the alliance but a section of the Congress leadership repeatedly insulted him.
Meanwhile, a source close to the chief minister told news agency PTI that he would submit his resignation on Sunday. The source also said government offices like the secretariat have been asked to remain open on Sunday "in view of hectic activity expected during the day" that may see the installation of a new government with the BJP's support.
However, according to an NDTV report, Nitish is likely to sack the RJD ministers from the cabinet and replace them with BJP MLAs. The report also claimed that both Nitish and the BJP have already finalised the seat-sharing agreements for the Lok Sabha elections.
The state BJP leaders, who held a meeting in Patna, however, stopped short of making any formal announcement of support to the JD(U) chief in the event of his pulling out of the Mahagathbandhan.
