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Nitish govt relinquishes claim on speaker's post

Soroor Ahmed in Patna

The Nitish Kumar government in Bihar lost the crucial first round in the battle for power when it withdrew the candidate who was contesting for the speaker's post.

Congress leader Sadanand Singh, backed by the Rashtriya Janata Dal and the Congress, won the election uncontested.

It was only yesterday that the National Democratic Alliance-led speaker Gajendra Himanshu was nominated after the opposition parties refused to accept the NDA's choice for speaker's post.

Talking to journalists later, Nitish Kumar said he was quite prepared for the showdown tomorrow. "The election of the speaker and seeking a trust vote are two entirely different issues," he said. "We did not want to make the election of speaker a contentious issue," he told newsmen in his chambers.

Asked whether this could be termed a tactical retreat, he said, "It is up to you to interpret whether it is a defeat or a victory."

Thought the election took place at 11.25 am, rumours were circulating much earlier that the NDA would withdraw its candidate from the speaker's election. Later, the NDA confirmed it.

The leader of RJD legislature party, Laloo Yadav, while welcoming Sadanand on the floor of the House said his victory is the victory of forces of social justice and secularism."

The NDA was handicapped by the absence of two newly elected legislators, Dhummal Singh and Sunil Pandey, who did not surrender themselves and were not present for oath-taking today. These two had given their support to NDA. Besides, it failed to engineer a split in the Congress and the Bahujan Samaj Party. Two Independents, who joined the Bihar Peoples Party, a constituent of the NDA, refused to back Gajendra Himanshu, the NDA-led speaker.

Considering today's defeat, it will not be an easy sailing for Nitish's government tomorrow when he faces the vote of confidence.

EARLIER REPORT:
NDA accepts Congressman Sadanand Singh as Bihar speaker

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