After big defeat in elections, Bihar CM Nitish Kumar quits

Patna: Reeling under the humiliating washout of the Janata Dal-United (JD-U) in the Lok Sabha polls in Bihar and facing rising attacks both from within the party and a massively strengthened BJP-led NDA, Chief Minister and JD(U) stalwart Nitish Kumar on Saturday  resigned from his post and also submitted his Cabinet’s resignation.

Mr Kumar, however, did not recommend dissolution of the state Assembly, which has a year-and-a-half left in its term. In what was widely speculated to be a politically smart move aimed at making the most of an utterly lose-lose situation for himself and the JD(U), Mr Kumar said all paths were now open for the formation of an alternative government. This implicit offer to a triumphant BJP to form government without having enough MLAs was read by political analysts as potentially a booby-trap for the saffron party.