By Our Special Correspondent
Newly sworn-in Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Wednesday chaired the first meeting of the Cabinet in which it was decided to hold a special session of the Bihar Assembly on August 24 and 25 to prove the majority of the Grand Alliance (GA) government.
On the first day of the session, legislators from the seven-party alliance that backed Chief Minister Nitish Kumar to form the government will elect the assembly's new speaker.
In the first cabinet meeting chaired by Nitish Kumar, it was decided to hold a special session of the Assembly. Deputy Chief Minister and RJD leader Tejashwi Prasad Yadav also attended the cabinet meeting. On August 25, the Mahaghatabandhan government will prove its majority on the floor of the House.
In a letter submitted to Governor Phagu Chauhan, Nitish announced the support of 164 MLAs from seven parties and one independent legislator. Speaking to the media on Tuesday after taking oath as CM for the eighth time, he said that the expansion of the cabinet will be done after consultation with GA members.
However, the date and time of the cabinet expansion is yet to be revealed. Sources said that the new cabinet will have 35 ministers, with RJD having the largest number of ministers. According to reliable sources, the portfolios previously held by BJP ministers in the NDA government will be allotted to RJD ministers.
On the other hand, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar will move a no-confidence motion against the current Speaker Vijay Kumar Sinha, who has not resigned from the post even after dissolving the NDA government. A discussion on the no-confidence motion against Sinha will also be held in the special meeting itself.
On August 9, CPI-ML legislator Mehboob Alam wrote a letter to the Bihar Vidhan Sabha secretary demanding Sinha's removal from the Speaker's post under sub-rule 10 of the Bihar Assembly's code of conduct.
On the other hand, security has been tightened around the JDU office at Bir Chand Patel Marg in Patna. Additional police forces have been deployed outside the office of the party, which has joined hands with the Mahaghatbandhan to sever its alliance with the NDA and form a new government.
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