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Bihar Chief Minister Jiten Ram Manjhi resigned on Friday ahead of a trust vote in the State Assembly. The decision of Manjhi to quit without taking the trust vote came as a surprise. The resignation was announced by Principal Secretary to Bihar Governor Brajesh Mehrotra, after Mr. Manjhi paid visit to the Raj Bhawan before the start of a joint session of the Bihar Legislature.

"I decided to step down just to avoid bloodshed on the floor of the assembly," Manjhi told

Nitish Kumar, JD(U) leader will be returning as Chief Minister of Bihar for the fourth time .

"The oath taking ceremony will be held at the Raj Bhavan on Sunday, at 5PM. The governor has asked us to prove majority within three weeks, but before March 16," a beaming Kumar told reporters outside the Raj Bhawan after meeting the governor

However the senior leaders of BJP were taken aback by the decision of Manjhi.

"We were thoroughly disappointed by his decision. He lost the opportunity to expose Nitish on floor of the House. We had even decided to support him during the trust vote to keep his spirit high," the BJP leader told to reporter

-Smrutirekha