Even as the Bihar assembly elections are merely a few weeks away, the Congress suffered a minor setback as former Bihar minister Murari Gautam resigned as MLA.
"The reserved Chenari assembly seat (in Rohtas district) has fallen on account of Gautam tendering his resignation," a notification issued by the Bihar assembly secretariat said.
However, the setback is only minor as the Congress itself had sought his disqualification as MLA. Gautam, who was a minister in the Nitish Kumar government when the Mahagathbandhan was in power in the state, began sitting with treasury bench members after the JD(U) returned to the NDA fold, prompting the Congress to seek his disqualification from the assembly.
According to media reports, Gautam, who contested the 2020 assembly polls from the Chenari constituency in Rohtas district on a Congress ticket, resigned from the the party on Monday. His resignation as MLA was accepted by the assembly speaker on Wednesday.
The resignation comes even as a petition seeking his disqualification is pending before Speaker Nand Kishor Yadav.
Even as Gutham said there is no specific reason behind his resignation from the membership of the assembly, there are speculations that he may join the BJP. He is yet to come out with a clarification on his next move. His move to sit with the treasury bench members has only fuelled this speculation. |
