Bihar Assembly in numbers: NDA now backed by 127 MLAs as ‘Mahagathbandhan’ collapses

Nitish Kumar took oath as the chief minister of Bihar for a record ninth time on Sunday (Jan 28), flipping from the opposition INDIA alliance to the Bharatiya Janata Party-led NDA (National Democratic Alliance). "Now I am back where I was before (in NDA) and now there is no question of going anywhere," the CM assured BJP supporters.

Nitish Kumar hails from the Janata Dal (United) (JDU) party and after his last flip-flop, his now erstwhile government was supported by the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD). Both parties were a part of the INDIA alliance, largely led by the opposition Congress party.

Nitish Kumar earlier submitted his resignation to the Bihar governor and snapped ties with RJD. Then he again staked a claim for the CM seat with the support of BJP, the second-largest party in the Bihar assembly.

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Bihar Assembly seat composition

The Bihar Assembly boasts 243 members in total, where the RJD holds the largest ground with 79 MLAs.

The BJP has 78 MLAs

The JD(U) has 45 MLAs

The CPI(M-L)(L) has 12 MLAs

The Congress has 19 MLAs

The HAM (S) has 4 MLAs

The AIMIM has 1 MLA

The CPI(M) has 2 MLAs

The CPI has 2 MLAs

There's one Independent MLA

A political party or alliance needs the support of at least 122 members (more than half) to form the government. The rulingMahagathbandhan(literally translated as Great Alliance) had 159 MLAs in total, which JDU was a part of.

Since JDU has now joined hands with BJP, both of them have 123 MLAs in total, just one above the halfway mark. Moreover, the NDA is also backed by the Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM [S]), which has 4 MLAs. This puts the NDA government in Bihar in a comfortable position.

Watch:Nitish Kumar stakes claim to form a new government in Bihar with BJP

On the other hand, the oppositionMahagathbandhanis left with just 114 MLAs, which is eight short of the halfway mark.

Nitish Kumar attacksMahagathbandhan

After taking oath for the record ninth time, Nitish Kumar took ontheMahagathbandhanand said the alliance was “not alright” and became so messed up that he had to quit.

"I have not been commenting about anything for long now because things were not right (in the Mahagathbandhan). I was getting opinions and suggestions from everyone, including my party workers. I listened to all of them and resigned today, and ended the current government,” CM Kumar said to reporters.

(With inputs from agencies)