Nitish Kumar to prove majority on March 11

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar will prove his majority on March 11 in the state assembly, 17 days after he took oath of office, a JD-U leader said on Tuesday.

The Janata Dal (United) (JD-U) legislature party meeting will be held on March 10 at the official residence of Nitish Kumar, said the leader.

While nearly a dozen rebel party MLAs will back former chief minister Jitan Ram 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 had resigned as chief minister last year after 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 MLAs, five Congress legislators, two Independents and a Communist Party of India (CPI) legislator.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has 88 legislators in the assembly and is supported by three Independents.