Bihar CM Nitish resigns as MLC

Patna: Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar resigned from his membership in the State Legislative Council on Monday, according to council chairman Awadhesh Narayan Singh. JD-U MLC Sanjay Gandhi submitted Nitish Kumar’s resignation letter to the Legislative Council. Kumar is likely to take oath as a member of the Rajya Sabha on April 10. Kumar secured a Rajya Sabha seat through an election held on March 16.

According to the rules, he was required to resign from his seat in the state legislature — and step down from the Chief Minister’s post — within 14 days of being elected to Parliament. On March 27, Bihar Assembly Speaker Prem Kumar noted that the Bihar CM still had time to resign, till March 30.

On the eve of Kumar’s resignation, senior leaders of his Janata Dal (United) rushed to his official residence in Patna to hold closed-door meetings, amidst pleas from a section of the party for Kumar to remain in Bihar, and a lack of clarity regarding his potential successor.