Nitish to seek vote of confidence on June 19

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Sunday said he will seek a vote of confidence at a special session of the state Assembly on June 19. "I have urged the Governor to call a special session of the Assembly on June 19 for a confidence vote," he told reporters after a meeting with Governor D.Y. Patil this afternoon. Mr. Kumar drove to Raj Bhavan after he had a meeting with JD(U) leaders at his 1, Anne Marg residence. He spent about half-an-hour in the Governor's House. Party sources said the JD(U) meeting adopted a resolution saying the Narendra Modi brand of politics was dangerous as a section of the society was wary of him. Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi is scheduled to address mediapersons at BJP headquarters here at 4 pm to express his party's view on the entire episode. Earlier, the crucial meeting of JD(U) began at Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's residence here to discuss on the decision to sever ties with BJP. JD(U) General Secretary K.C. Tyagi told reporters that there was no scope left for continuing in NDA after the alliance party gave a clear signal of choosing Narendra Modi as its Prime Ministerial candidate. Several JD(U) MPs including Ranjan Yadav, Rajiv Ranjan Singh Lallan, Ali Anwar, Monazir Hassan, state party president Bashist Narayan Singh and other leaders were seen entering the chief minister's residence for the meeting. Earlier, Kumar held an emergency Cabinet meeting at his residence without BJP ministers. The 11 BJP ministers, including Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi, did not attend the Cabinet meeting saying it was "meaningless". "What is the need for convening the Cabinet meeting by the Chief Minister as all indications suggest that JD(U) has decided to split with the BJP-led NDA?" Bihar unit BJP president Mangal Pandey told reporters.