The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Tuesday said it has appointed Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya as the central observer for the election of the legislature party leader in Bihar.
Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal and former Union Minister Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti have been made co-observers.
“The Parliamentary Board of the Bharatiya Janata Party has appointed Keshav Prasad Maurya, Deputy Chief Minister, Uttar Pradesh, as the central observer for the election of the Leader of the Legislature Party in Bihar,” BJP national general secretary Arun Singh said in a statement.
Prior to the formation of the new government in Bihar, JD(U) leaders Sanjay Jha and Lalan Singh held a meeting with Union Home Minister Amit Shah at his residence in New Delhi. The President of the BJP, JP Nadda, was also in attendance at the closed-door meeting, which lasted for approximately three hours, the news agency PTI reported.
The discussions covered the National Democratic Alliance’s (NDA) preparations for the government’s establishment in Bihar. This included the crucial matter of allocating ministerial portfolios among the NDA’s constituent parties in the new cabinet, as well as finalising a candidate for the post of Assembly Speaker, sources told PTI .
The commencement of the new NDA government’s formation formally began on Monday after Chief Minister N itish Kumar met Governor Arif Mohammed Khan and recommended the dissolution of the outgoing Assembly, effective from 19 November.
Kumar, the JD(U) supremo, is scheduled to meet the Governor once more on Wednesday to tender his resignation and present a letter of support signed by all other parties within the NDA coalition.
JD(U) sources told PTI that Kumar is expected to be elected the legislature party leader on 19 November. The following day, he is due to take the oath of office as Bihar’s Chief Minister for a record tenth time during a ceremony at Gandhi Maidan in Patna. Other ministers in the new cabinet are also anticipated to be sworn in during the event.
Bihar Election Results
Last week, the ruling NDA soundly defeated the ‘Mahagathbandhan’—the main opposition grand alliance—by securing a landslide majority in the Bihar Assembly elections, taking 202 seats in the 243-member House.
The BJP emerged as the largest single party, winning 89 seats. Its coalition partner, the JD(U), won 85 seats, while the Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas), led by Union Minister Chirag Paswan, secured 19 seats.
The Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular), under the leadership of former Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi, took five seats, and the Rashtriya Lok Morcha, led by Upendra Kushwaha, secured four seats.
In contrast, the Mahagathbandhan only managed to win 34 seats in total. Within this alliance, the RJD took 25 seats, the Congress won six, the CPI(ML) Liberation secured two seats, and the CPI(M) took one seat.
