The ruling Janata Dal-United (JD-U) on Tuesday issued a whip to its legislators, the dissidents included, to vote on Wednesday for Chief Minister Nitish Kumar to prove his majority in the assembly.JD-U chief whip Sharavan Kumar, who is also the parliamentary affairs minister, said the whip was also applicable to JD-U rebels led by former chief minister Jitan Ram Manjhi."Any legislator found voting against the whip will loss membership of the state assembly," Sharavan told the media.Nitish Kumar will seek a vote of confidence in the assembly on Wednesday, 17 days after he took oath of office, a party leader said on Tuesday.Nearly a dozen rebel legislators have thrown their lot with Manjhi.
Nitish Kumar is confident of proving his majority. The JD-U has the support of its allies -- the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), the Congress and the Communist Party of India (CPI).Nitish Kumar resigned as chief minister last year after the JD-U's rout in the Lok Sabha polls.Manjhi, who was made the chief minister in May 2014, resigned on February 20 after a political crisis in the state.In the 243-member assembly, the JD-U has 115 legislators. The party has the support of 24 RJD legislators, five of the Congress, two independents and a CPI member.The Bharatiya Janata Party has 88 legislators and it is supported by three independents.