IANS/Patna

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar yesterday proved his majority in the assembly three days after dumping the Bharatiya Janata Party, and declared that his former ally will not win next year’s general elections.

Accusing the BJP of trying to impose divisive politics, Kumar said the politics of consultation which the party believed in under former prime minister Atal Behari Vajpayee had ended.

In a speech in the assembly during a trust motion he moved to prove his majority, Kumar said India was built on secular foundations and his Janata Dal (United) party will not tolerate anyone trying to cause religious divide.

“The country should be run in a manner so as to take everyone along... Coalition governments are the norm now. No party should be under the false premise that they can run the country on their own steam,” he said.

“The work ethics of Atalji (Vajpayee) was based on how to take everyone along, based on consultations... But now it has changed,” Kumar said.

Kumar sailed through with 126 votes in his favour after 91 BJP members and a Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) legislator walked out of the 243-member assembly before the voting.

The JD-U ended a 17-year-long alliance with the BJP last week after Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi was made that party’s election campaign chief.

Kumar said the BJP’s dream of ruling India would be shattered.

He said the BJP had no chance to win the 2014 Lok Sabha election.

“Even if we remained with them, notching up 200 seats would be difficult... Don’t be under the illusion that you can do it alone. This is the time of coalitions,” he said.

Taking a dig at Modi’s Gujarat model of development, Kumar said: “What vikas (development) model is this where you improve areas that are already good? What kind of improvement is it?”

He said the BJP had benefited by aligning with the JD-U.

“We will not tolerate thopna (imposition of views). We are for the policy of taking everyone along and against divisive policies,” Kumar asserted.

Kumar got the support of JD-U’s 117 legislators, four independents, four of the Congress and the sole Communist Party of India member. One JD-U legislator is in jail.

Those who voted against Kumar included 22 members of the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and two independents.

The BJP earlier said its legislators would not take part in the trust vote.

“Our legislators have walked out,” BJP legislative party leader Nand Kishore Yadav said.

He accused Kumar and the JD-U of “betrayal” for ending its alliance with the BJP. He said his party would occupy the opposition benches.

The Congress said it supported the Kumar’s government to “keep communal BJP at bay,” and endorsed Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s view that the Bihar chief minister was a secular person.

“We supported the JD-U government without any condition. We wanted to keep the communal forces at bay. The BJP wanted to defeat the government,” Congress spokesperson P C Chacko said in New Delhi.

According to the Congress, which is exploring an alliance with the JD-U in Bihar ahead of next year’s elections, the decision to support the Kumar government was “unilateral”.

“We do not expect anything in return,” Chacko said.

But the Congress took care not to annoy RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav, an arch rival of Kumar, saying he was an ally.

“The RJD is with Congress. We have an alliance with it,” said Chacko.

Earlier, Kumar thanked the prime minister for calling him a secular person, but said it was only a matter of courtesy.

Advani-RSS chief meet called off

A meeting between Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) veteran L K Advani was called off yesterday after the party leader reported “unwell,” sources said. Bhagwat, who played a key role in stopping a sulking Advani from quitting key BJP posts, was to meet him in New Delhi. However, the meeting was called off after Advani reported unwell. Advani, who played a key role in building the BJP, last week resigned from all key posts after Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi was named head of the party’s election campaign committee. He took a U-turn after Bhagwat called and, according to sources, assured him that he will be consulted in all party decisions. Bhagwat earlier met former BJP president Nitin Gadkari.