NDA allies in Delhi for talks on govt formation

After meeting Chief Minister Nitish Kumar in Patna on Sunday, RLM chief Upendra Kushwaha and Deputy CM Vijay Sinha proceeded to Delhi.

LJP (RV) president Chirag Paswan and HAM chief Jitan Ram Manjhi have reportedly been summoned to Delhi for discussions. JD(U) leaders Sanjay Jha and Union minister Lalan Singh are already camping in the capital and have held talks on government formation. "Everything will be clear within a few days," said Kushwaha.

Sources said a formula of allocating a ministerial berth for every six MLAs was being worked out. With there being an upper limit on the size of the ministry (15 per cent of the 243-member Assembly), the BJP will get 15 ministerial berths, followed by the JD(U) with 14, the LJP with three and one each for the HAM and the RLD.

According to JD(U) sources, the newly elected party MLAs are soon likely to meet at the CM's residence. Nitish is likely to hold the last Cabinet meeting of the present government, in which the dissolution of the Assembly will be recommended. Later, he will submit his resignation.

The sources said the swearing-in ceremony would be held at the historic Gandhi Maidan. PM Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah and CMs of BJP and NDA-ruled states will participate in the ceremony.

Earlier on Sunday, Bihar's Chief Electoral Officer Vinod Singh Gunjiyal handed over the list of 243 newly elected members of the state Assembly to Governor Arif Mohammad Khan at Raj Bhavan in Patna. The submission of the list sets the ball rolling for the formation of the 18th Bihar Assembly. The tenure of the 17th Assembly ends on November 22.

Meanwhile, Nitish's son Nishant Kumar expressed his happiness over the NDA's spectacular victory. "I was sure of the NDA win, but its scale was much more than I expected," he said.

Ducking the question on his father becoming the CM again, he said, "The NDA legislators will decide that." Before the Assembly elections were held, there was a demand from a section of the JD(U) to field Nishant from the Harnaut seat in Nalanda district. However, it was turned down by Nitish, stressing that it would go against his own opposition of dynastic politics.