Nitish Kumar  ended its alliance with the BJP in Bihar and stepped down as Chief Minister of the state. He tendered his resignation to Bihar Governor Phagu Chauhan.

He said the decision to snap ties with the NDA was taken by his party, the JD(U).

“All MPs and MLAs are at a consensus that we should leave the NDA,” the JD(U) leader said after submitting his resignation to the Governor.

Earlier today, Kumar held a crucial meeting with party legislators and MPs at his official residence, in which he is understood to have said that he had been driven against the wall by the BJP which tried to weaken his JD(U).

The RJD, which is Bihar’s single-largest party, also held a meeting with its allies to discuss the political crisis in the state. The RJD-led grand alliance or Mahagathbandhan, comprising the Left and the Congress, is likely to support Kumar.

The ties between the BJP and the JD(U) had been under the strain for quite some time in view of differences over a range of issues including caste census, population control and the ‘Agnipath’ defence recruitment scheme.

The BJP, meanwhile, held a meeting at the residence of Deputy CM Tarkishore Prasad, where all ministers of the party besides state president Sanjay Jaiswal and other senior leaders were also present

If Nitish Kumar’s party decides to take the help of the ‘Mahagathbandhan’, it can easily form a government in the politically important state.

In the 243-member Bihar Assembly, the BJP has 77 seats. JD(U) holds 45, the Congress 19, the Left led by CPIML(L) has 16 and the RJD 79.