press trust of india
Patna, July 28: The Nitish Kumar government Friday won the floor test in the Bihar Assembly, securing 131 votes against the Opposition’s 108.
Four members in the 243-member house could not vote, which reduced the total strength of the House during the trust vote to 239. With the effective voting strength reduced to 239, the new government was required to get 120 votes to win the confidence vote.
Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi did not take part in the voting as both are members of the Legislative Council. However, they were present in the house.
The 131 votes in favour of Nitish Kumar comprised JD(U) 70, BJP 52, HAM 1, RLSP 2, LJP 2 and Independent 4. The 108 votes against it comprised RJD 79, Congress 26 and CPI-ML 3.
The speaker went for lobby division after efforts to decide the fate of the confidence motion through voice vote failed twice amid treasury and Opposition rumpus. Senior RJD MLA Abdul Bari Siddiqui demanded secret voting but the Speaker rejected his demand.
Meanwhile, the Patna High Court Friday admitted two petitions challenging the formation of the new government.
The court has, however, not fixed a date for hearing petitions that were filed Thursday.
