All political parties in Bihar, barring chief minister Nitish Kumar’s JDU, confined their MLAs to “safehouses” here on Sunday to resist poaching attempts ahead of the trust vote.

(High drama erupted outside RJD leader Tejashwi Prasad Yadav's residence late on Sunday evening after a large police contingent led by Patna City, central, superintendent of police Chandra Prakash arrived there on a complaint from "bahubali" and former MP Anand Mohan's younger son Anshuman Anand.

(Anshuman had complained that his elder brother and RJD MLA Chetan Anand was missing and could not be reached even over the phone. Chetan has been staying at Tejashwi's residence with other Mahagathbandhan MLAs ahead of Monday's floor test.

(Sources said the police went to Tejashwi's residence to search for Chetan and returned after talking to RJD MLA Shakti Yadav and MLC Sunil Singh.

(Soon after, 16 Bihar Congress MLAs, who had arrived from Hyderabad and come to stay at Tejashwi's residence, left the place complaining of cramped conditions. They promised they’d be at the Assembly before Monday’s floor test.)

The stage is set for a stormy showdown in the Assembly on Monday with Speaker Awadh Bihari Chaudhary, who is from the Opposition RJD, releasing the provisional programme for the budget session without listing the no-confidence motion brought against him by the NDA, indicating his determination to preside over the proceedings.

Nitish will not go in for a trust vote without replacing Chaudhary, to prevent any “khela” (game) by the Opposition.

The no-confidence against the Speaker is expected to assess the strength of the two sides ahead of the trust vote. If Chaudhary retains his post, the government would be deemed to be in a minority and would fall.

RJD Rajya Sabha member Manoj Kumar Jha has challenged the NDA to remove the Speaker by adhering to constitutional provisions.

“As per the provision of the Constitution and also the recent judgments of the Supreme Court with regard to Arunachal Pradesh and Maharashtra, 122 MLAs are needed in the 243-member Assembly to removethe Speaker. I am putting this in public so that nobody creates a political imbroglio on this issue. I am also requesting those who talk about Mahatma Gandhi to decide which Gandhi they like — the one on the currency notes, or the one who said ‘Hey Ram’. We are determined to savedemocracy,” Jha told reporters.

The NDA has 128 MLAs on its side while the Mahagathbandhan has 114 in the 243-member House. The lone AIMIM member is non-aligned.

Chaudhary’s mobile phone was switched off. Deputy Speaker Maheshwar Hazari, who is from the JDU, appealed to everybody to go by the business rules of the Assembly instead of creating a ruckus, and asked Chaudhary to “quit and follow the rules to uphold the prestige of the post”.

“According to Article 179 of the House business rules, no Speaker can preside over the House if there is a no-confidence motion pending against him. The Deputy Speaker will preside over the proceedings. Manoj Jha is asking us to show the support of 122 members. We are ready, but this can be shown only in the Assembly, not on the roads. We believe in the Constitution of India and the rules of the House,” Hazari said.

JDU legislators met at minister Vijay Kumar Choudhary’s residence in Patna on Sunday evening. Sources present there said at least five MLAs were absent, indicating that the spectre of defections was looming large over Nitish’s party.

Addressing the legislators at the meeting, Nitish said: “There is nothing to worry about. We will easily win the trust vote tomorrow.”

Asked about the absence of the MLAs from the meeting, minister Choudhary said: “Those who were not present are accounted for. They have stayed away because of some unavoidable reasons. Two or three people were absent, but they will be present during the trust vote.”

From the Mahagathbandhan, 78 of the RJD’s 79 MLAs and 16 belonging to the Left parties have been confined to former deputy chief minister Tejashwi Prasad Yadav’s residence.