Chief minister Jitan Ram Manjhi surprised all - except the BJP - when he quit even before facing the floor test on Friday.

The JDU, RJD and Congress legislators were the ones taken most by surprise. "We all expected him to do what former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee did in 1996 and Nitish Kumar himself in 2000 - deliver a strong speech in the House before announcing his resignation," said a senior JDU leader.

The only ones who did not seem amazed by Manjhi's move were senior BJP leaders. "I got a call around 9am, indicating Manjhi ji would quit before coming to the House," said a senior BJP leader.

He also indicated his party had asked Manjhi to quit because they apprehended violence in the House, which may have led to the imposition of President's Rule.

"While we announced our support for Manjhi, knowing fully well he did not have the numbers to win the floor test, we wanted a smooth transition of power to Nitish Kumar. The anti-incumbency factor would have hounded us during Assembly polls if President's Rule were imposed. But now, when Nitish takes over, the factor would shift towards him. Even though we played the Mahadalit card, we knew it would get diluted if we faced an anti-incumbency factor," he said.

Another reason the BJP wanted to wriggle out of the situation that was taking shape, in which it was seen to be siding with Manjhi, was a series of decisions the Manjhi government has taken, which would be impossible for a government to fulfil as it requires over Rs 50,000 crore a year.

JDU leaders denied they would have resorted to violence inside the Assembly. "We had decided to sit in the House quietly and go by the proceedings. Even our protest against the governor's speech was going to be a peaceful one, by just putting a black strip of cloth over our mouths. It is the BJP that is trying to wriggle out of political embarrassment. The support they had announced for Manjhi on Thursday made them an object of ridicule. Manjhi quit even before accepting their support officially and lies about the government falling were exposed," JDU chief whip Shrawan Kumar said.

Manjhi was expected to arrive at the Assembly building around 10.15am. Instead, he proceeded to Raj Bhavan. Within minutes, an RJD MLA willing to cross-vote got a call from dissident JDU MLA Gyanu Singh, who said the chief minister had quit.

The news spread like wildfire across the Assembly building. Brajesh Mehrotra, principal secretary to the governor, arrived around 11.30am with official communication from Governor Keshari Nath Tripathi, directing the Speaker to adjourn the House sine die.

Even hardcore Manjhi supporters were caught unawares. "I was at the chief minister's house till 3am. It was then decided the chief minister would give his speech on the floor of the House and announce his resignation without waiting for the confidence motion to be put to vote. But when I went back around 9am, the plan had changed and I was told the chief minister was going to Raj Bhavan to tender his resignation," said a dissident JDU legislator.

Off the record, they even conceded they never had the numbers.