PATNA: Hours before the CM Nitish Kumar-led NDA in Bihar is scheduled to take up a no-confidence motion against Assembly Speaker Awadh Bihari Chaudhary, the RJD on Sunday asked the ruling coalition to show the magic figure of 122 before initiating the process to remove him from the post. Curiously, the NDA claims to have the support of 128 MLAs—six more than the majority mark.
Chaudhary who belongs to Lalu Prasad’s RJD was elected as assembly Speaker when the Grand Alliance govt came to power in Bihar in August 2022 after Nitish walked out of the NDA.After leading the government for 17 months, Nitish went back to the NDA once again on January 28 this year, and hence the latter wants the existing speaker to step down to have his own speaker, but the latter has refused to oblige so far.
Now in a new twist to the entire controversy, the RJD backed by its allies, the Congress and the Left, made it clear that it would not give a walkover to the NDA which also is to seek trust vote on the floor of the assembly on Sunday.
“Going by the Supreme Court judgements over removal of assembly speaker in the past, a no-confidence motion in the Bihar assembly must be supported by at least 122 MLAs in the 243-member assembly,” RJD’s Rajya Sabha Member Manoj Kumar Jha told the media on Sunday adding, “We will ensure that the voting tomorrow is held within the Constitutional framework.”
Urging the legislators to vote with conscience during the trust vote on Monday, Jha said the lawmakers need to choose between two Gandhis—one which is just an image embossed on Indian currency notes and the other who was the living epitome of truth who uttered ‘

Hey Ram

’ on being felled by assassin’s bullets,” Jha said.
The NDA, which comprises the BJP, JD(U), HAM(S) and others, currently claims to be enjoying the support of 128 MLAs in the 243-member Bihar assembly and says it will easily sail through the trust vote on Monday. The opposition Grand Alliance, on the other hand, has the support of 115 MLAs—with RJD having a total of 79 legislators and Congress 19 MLAs while Left had 16 lawmakers.
Lone AIMIM member Akhtarul Iman too has also announced its support to the Grand Alliance. “We openly support or oppose anyone. We play from the front,” Iman told the TOI on Sunday adding they would obviously vote against Nitish the way he has been changing his ideology at the drop of hats.”
“Opposing Nitish must be the responsibility of every person the way he has damaged everything—from administration to democracy to politics,” he said, adding the man who once launched an intensive campaign against the BJP eventually decided to go in its company.
As per the business agenda released by the Vidhan Sabha secretariat, the no-confidence motion against the Speaker will be taken up immediately after the governor’s customary address to members of the bicameral legislature on the inaugural day of the budget session.