FirstUp: Nitish Kumar to seek trust vote, RLD to formally join NDA… The big stories today

It’s Monday and it’s the beginning of a new week.

But if you are expecting a slow news day, think again. Several news-making events are to take place today (12 February) and we have you covered.

From the farmers’ meeting with ministers in Chandigarh to Nitish Kumar’s floor test in the Bihar Assembly, here’s what to expect from today.

Nitish Kumar’s trust vote

Politics is heating up in the state of Bihar. Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and his newly formed alliance with the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) is to seek a trust vote in the state Assembly today. Last month, Kumar took the oath as Bihar CM for the record ninth time after dumping the opposition’s INDIA bloc and rejoining the NDA-BJP alliance.

Ahead of the crucial moment, Nitish Kumar issued a whip to ensure the presence of all party MLAs inside the Assembly on Monday when the newly formed NDA government will seek a trust vote. JD(U) chief whip Shravan Kumar said those defying the whip “will lose their membership” even as he maintained that it was a “routine exercise that takes place ahead of every Assembly session”.

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On the other hand, all MLAs of the RJD have virtually been made ‘hostage’ at Bihar’s former deputy chief minister Tejashwi Prasad Yadav’s official residence in Patna, ahead of the floor test.

RJD MP Manoj Jha said that legislators of RJD and other constituents of the grand alliance expressed their willingness to stay together for the next 48 hours. “All legislators are staying together, entertaining themselves and discussing politics of Bihar and country.”

Union ministers to meet protesting farmers

The Centre will hold another meet with the protesting farmers today in Chandigarh. According to a farmer leader, Union ministers — Piyush Goyal, Arjun Munda and Nityanand Rai — will arrive in Chandigarh today to hold talks.

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The meeting will be held at the Mahatma Gandhi State Institute of Public Administration in Sector 26, a day before the farmers’ proposed ‘Delhi Chalo’ march. The first meeting with the three Union ministers was held on 8 February in which a detailed discussion was held with the leaders of farmer organisations which planned ‘Delhi Chalo’ march to press for their demands, including a law to guarantee a minimum support price for crops, was held.

The Samyukta Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) and the Kisan Mazdoor Morcha had announced ‘Delhi Chalo’ march by more than 200 farmers’ unions on 13 February to press the Centre for accepting several demands.

Jayant Choudhary-led RLD likely to join NDA

The Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) led by Jayant Choudhury will switch sides from the Opposition to the NDA bloc today, claimed SBSP chief Omprakash Rajbhar. “The discussion is almost final and, in all likelihood, the RLD will join the fold of the NDA on 12 February,” Rajbhar was quoted as saying.

The day is significant as 12 February is the birth anniversary of late Chaudhary Ajit Singh, the founder of the RLD and father of present party chief Jayant Chaudhary.

The RLD chief had earlier almost confirmed that he would be switching over to the NDA after Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that former prime minister Chaudhary Charan Singh will be honoured with the Bharat Ratna.

Vladimir Putin to visit Turkey

Russian president Vladimir Putin will visit Turkey today to meet counterpart Tayyip Erdogan, a Turkish official told Reuters, in what will be the Russian leader’s first trip to a NATO ally since Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Putin’s scope to travel abroad has been limited since March last year when the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant against him for the alleged deportation of Ukrainian children to Russia, a war crime. Russia denied the charge and called the move outrageous, but said it was legally void in any case because Russia is not a member of the ICC.

Turkey is also not a party to the Rome Statute of the ICC, so Putin can travel to Turkey without fear of being arrested under the warrant.

It is reported that Turkey will try to convince Russia to return to the Black Sea Grain Initiative, brokered by the United Nations and Turkey to provide protected exports from Ukrainian ports, after Moscow withdrew last July following a year of implementation.