Patna: Bihar’s longest-serving Chief Minister Nitish Kumar was on Thursday sworn in for a record 10th term here at a grand ceremony, attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, CMs of several NDA-ruled states, and senior alliance leaders.
Kumar was administered the oath of office by Governor Arif Mohammed Khan at the Gandhi Maidan, where a massive makeshift stage was erected for the ceremony, also attended by Union Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP national president Jagat Prakash Nadda, both of whom had arrived in Patna on Wednesday night.
Along with 74-year-old Kumar, 26 ministers took the oath of office: 14 from the Bharatiya Janata Party, eight from Janata Dal (United), two from Lok Jan Shakti Party (Ram Vilas), and one each from Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) and Rashtriya Lok Morcha (RLM).
The ministers included Samrat Choudhary and Vijay Kumar Sinha, both deputy CMs in the previous government, who have been elected as the BJP’s leader and deputy leader, respectively, following the polls that were swept by the NDA, which got 202 seats in the 243-member assembly.
Out of 26, five ministers in the new Nitish cabinet are Dalits — one each from BJP, LJPRV, and HAM, and two from JD(U). Eight ministers belong to the upper castes, including four Rajputs. Three Yadavs have also been accommodated in the new cabinet, which is a mix of senior coalition leaders and new entrants, with the focus on caste and regional balance.
The portfolios to the ministers were not immediately allocated.
“Congratulations to Shri Nitish Kumar Ji on taking oath as Bihar’s Chief Minister. He is an experienced administrator with a proven track record of good governance for many years. My best wishes to him for his tenure ahead,” Modi wrote on X.
Modi, who had told voters during the campaign that he would “return for the swearing-in of an NDA government”, delighted the crowd when he lifted his trademark ‘gamchha’ and swirled it above his head, a gesture that has become a signature of the 75-year-old leader.
The Prime Minister also posted on X: “Congratulations to Shri Samrat Chaudhary Ji and Shri Vijay Sinha Ji on becoming Deputy Chief Ministers of Bihar. Both leaders have worked extensively at the grassroots in serving people. Best wishes to them.”
Leaders of several NDA-ruled states, including TDP chief and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu, and BJP satraps Yogi Adityanath (Uttar Pradesh), Himanta Biswa Sarma (Assam), Devendra Fadnavis (Maharashtra), Mohan Yadav (Madhya Pradesh), and Rekha Gupta (Delhi) attended the ceremony.
With a tally of 89 out of 243 seats, the BJP, which emerged as the single largest party, had the lion’s share of 14 ministers in the new cabinet.
Besides Choudhary and Sinha, other BJP leaders who took the oath included Mangal Pandey, Nitin Nabin, and Surendra Prasad Mehta, all of whom were ministers in the previous government.
State BJP president Dilip Jaiswal, who had resigned from the cabinet nearly two years ago in keeping with the party’s ‘one person, one post’ policy, was back in the council of ministers.
Another minister who is back after a break is Narayan Prasad. He had lost his post in 2022 when the chief minister abruptly quit the NDA. He was not re-inducted upon the JD(U) supremo’s return to the BJP-led coalition last year.
The party has also brought in fresh faces like Shreyasi Singh, a professional shooter of international fame, who has been elected from Jamui for a second consecutive term.
Other BJP leaders who will enjoy a ministerial berth for the first time are –Arun Shankar Prasad, Dr Pramod Kumar, Lakhendra Kumar Raushan, Sanjay Singh Tiger, and Rama Nishad.
Another notable inclusion is Ram Kripal Yadav, a former Union minister who lost the Patliputra Lok Sabha seat last year but was elected from Danapur in the assembly polls.
From the JD(U) quota, all the inductees were ministers in the previous government, including Zama Khan, the lone Muslim MLA in the NDA.
Others who took oath, included Bijendra Yadav, Shrawon Kumar, Vijay Kumar Chaudhary, Leshi Singh and Madan Sahni, Sunil Kumar, and Ashok Choudhary.
The NDA also comprises smaller allies like LJPRV, HAM, and RLM, led by Union ministers Chirag Paswan, Jitan Ram Manjhi, and Rajya Sabha MP Upendra Kushwaha, respectively.
From HAM, Santosh Suman, Manjhi’s son and party president, was re-inducted.
LJPRV ministers include Sanjay Kumar Paswan of Bakhri, an associate of the late Ram Vilas Paswan, and Sanjay Kumar Singh, who defeated Tej Pratap Yadav in Mahua.
Although the RLM has won four seats, the MLAs, including Kushwaha’s wife Snehlata, who won the Sasaram seat, the party is represented in the cabinet by the founding president’s son Deepak Prakash, who is at present not a member of either house in the state legislature.
Besides the CM, Dilip Jaiswal, Dr Pramod Kumar, Ashok Choudhary, and Santosh Suman are members of the state legislative council.
The maximum number of ministers permissible for the state cabinet, including the CM, is 36.
In the outgoing government, the BJP had 15 ministers, JD(U) 12, including CM Nitish Kumar, Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) had one, and one minister who was an Independent candidate.
Reacting to his father’s swearing in, Nitish Kumar’s son Nishant said, “gratitude and greetings to the people of Bihar. I extend my heartfelt thanks and congratulations…the way people have worked, the way women voted, their special participation, this is very significant for Bihar.”
On his part, RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav hoped the new Bihar government would “live up to the expectations and aspirations of the people”.
“Heartiest congratulations to respectable Nitish Kumar ji, upon being sworn in as Chief Minister of Bihar again, and the ministers in his cabinet. Hope the new government will live up to the expectations and aspirations of the people of Bihar and bring a positive and qualitative difference in their lives”, said the 36-year-old, who is likely to continue as the leader of the opposition in the state assembly.
Union minister and LJP(RV) chief Chirag Paswan said the induction of two MLAs from his party into the new council of ministers in Bihar marks a “major victory” that his late father Ram Vilas Paswan had long envisioned.
The poll mandate places “big responsibilities” on the party to work towards a developed Bihar, he added.
