Summary Nitish Kumar said it had become "impossible" for him to run the government in an alliance
NEW DELHI (AFP) - The leader of India s eastern Bihar state resigned from his post on Wednesday in a surprise move widely expected to strengthen Prime Minister Narendra Modi s grip on power.
Nitish Kumar, the popular chief minister of one of India s most populous and impoverished states, told journalists that it had become "impossible" for him to run the government in an alliance with a regional party led by Lalu Prasad Yadav, a controversial populist.
"My resignation has been accepted. The governor has asked me to continue till other arrangements are made," Kumar said.
Modi s right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is the main opposition in the state and observers predict that it could now form the next Bihar government in an alliance with Kumar s party.
Yadav -- a former Bihar chief minister -- was earlier banished from India s lower house in 2013 after he was convicted of defrauding a scheme to help farmers.
