Patna:
With the gong being sounded for the alliance between the BJP and Nitish Kumar, it's a busy Sunday for Bihar with lots of political drama.
Here are the latest developments in the story:
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar met this afternoon with Governor DY Patil to inform that his party is no longer allied with the BJP.
After meeting the Governor, Mr Kumar said at a press conference that his party was "forced" to announce the split. "Basic principles of the alliance have been violated. We cannot compromise on our basic principles," he said.
Party chief Sharad Yadav announced at the presser that he has stepped down as the Convenor of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance or NDA. "Time to go our own way," he said.
BJP leader Sushma Swaraj termed the break-up "sad and unfortunate." Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi of the party added that the party will not reverse its decision on Narendra Modi's elevation "even if alliance breaks 10 times."
The BJP's decision to place Narendra Modi in charge of its election campaign has precipitated the crisis. The JD(U) says he "lacks secular credentials."
Mr Kumar has reportedly asked for BJP ministers to be dismissed. They have still not resigned.
Mr Kumar has been asked to prove his majority with a trust vote in the Bihar Assembly on Wednesday. To prove his majority, he needs 122 votes. The JD(U) has 118 state legislators.
Earlier in the day, the chief minister met senior leaders from his party, the JD(U), and finalized a resolution to explain why the party is ending the 17-year-partnership with the BJP.
The resolution states there has been "a rapid rise in the growing hegemonic control of a leadership that does not represent the characteristics which we had emphasised for the continuation of our alliance." It targets Narendra Modi, the Chief Minister of Gujarat, without naming him.
The 11 BJP ministers in the Bihar cabinet skipped an emergency meet called by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar this morning.
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