Nitish Kumar 'Margdarshak' for those who want to change party in every 6 months: Assam CM

Assam Chief Minister and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Himanta Biswa Sarma took a jibe at Bihar CM and former ally Nitish Kumar after the latter broke alliance with the saffron party in Bihar and said that Nitish Kumar is a "Margdarshak" (guide) for everybody who wants to change the party in every six months.

Speaking to reporters over the political scenario in Bihar, Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma on Wednesday said, "How can you guarantee that Nitish Kumar will not again go out of that coalition after 6-8 months? Because he is the most unpredictable person." CM Sarma who joined the BJP in 2015 after resigning from Congress said, "We have also changed political party, but we have not changed like him. He is 'Margdarshak' for everybody who wants to change the party in every six months."

Notably, this comes after Janata Dal-United (JDU) chief and Bihar CM Nitish broke alliance with BJP in the state and returned to the Mahagatbandhan alliance to form the new government led by JDU, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and Congress.

Nitish Kumar breaks alliance with BJP, returns back to Mahagatbandhan

Five years after returning to the NDA fold, JDU chief Nitish Kumar took another U-turn, joined hands with his former allies in Mahagatbandhan-- RJD, Congress, and the Left on Tuesday, and submitted his resignation to Bihar Governor Phagu Chauhan to stake a claim to form a new government with the support of 164 MLAs.

Notably, on Wednesday, the JDU leader took oath as the Chief Minister of Bihar for the 8th consecutive time. In addition, Kumar was joined by RJD's Tejashwi Yadav who swore in as his Deputy, bringing the fast-paced political developments in Bihar to a conclusion. The duo was administered the oath of office and secrecy by Governor Phagu Chauhan.

According to sources, the newly formed Mahagatbandhan government in Bihar is likely to have 35 Ministers including CM Nitish Kumar. While RJD will have 15 Ministers, JDU will have to settle for 13 Ministerial berths. On the other hand, Congress and HAM(S) might get 4 and 1 Ministries respectively.

It is pertinent to mention that in the past few months, the former allies in Bihar--JDU and BJP have been at loggerheads on a plethora of issues including the liquor ban, and the Agnipath scheme and the law and order situation. The latest flashpoint was JDU's allegations against its own leader RCP Singh who was a part of the Union Cabinet till July 6. Amid speculation about Singh's perceived closeness to BJP, JDU levelled corruption allegations against him and hinted that BJP was planning to use him like Chirag Paswan to orchestrate its downfall.