Nitish returns as Bihar CM for 10th time, 26 ministers sworn in at Gandhi Maidan

Patna, Nov 20: JD(U) supremo Nitish Kumar was sworn in as the Chief Minister of Bihar for a record 10th time at a grand ceremony held at Gandhi Maidan in Patna, on Thursday.

A total of 26 ministers, excluding Kumar, took oath at the event. Governor Arif Mohammed Khan administered the oath of office and secrecy. Of them,14 from the BJP, 8 from JDU, LJP(RV) 2, HAM 1 and RLM 1.

The swearing-in saw the presence of top NDA leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, BJP national president J.P. Nadda, and several Chief Ministers from NDA-ruled states.

Among them were Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, Nagaland Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio, and Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma, Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, among others.

Modi posted his congratulations on social media, calling it a “splendid team of dedicated leaders” and wishing them success in taking Bihar “to new heights.”

He also drew loud cheers from the crowd as he twirled his gamchha towards the end of the ceremony.

Prominent inductees into the new cabinet included senior BJP leaders Samrat Choudhary and Vijay Kumar Sinha, both of whom served as Deputy Chief Ministers in the previous NDA government.

At least three ministers are members of the legislative council, namely JD(U) national general secretary Ashok Choudhary, BJP state president Dilip Jaiswal, and HAM chief Santosh Kumar Suman.

New entrants include Shreyasi Singh, an award-winning shooter elected from Jamui for a second term, and Rama Nishad, wife of former Muzaffarpur MP Ajay Nishad, who joined the BJP during the elections and won from Aurai.

Veteran JD(U) leader Bijendra Prasad Yadav, a ninth-term MLA, has also returned to the cabinet.

Nitish Kumar, 71, a legislative council member who did not contest the assembly polls, is among India’s longest-serving chief ministers, having helmed Bihar for 19 years.

Known both as “sushashan babu” for his governance record and “Paltu Ram” for his political flip-flops, he now leads a freshly mandated NDA after the alliance secured 202 seats in the 243-member assembly.

The BJP won 89, JD(U) 85, LJP(RV) 19, HAM 5 and RLM 4.

In the outgoing government, the BJP had 15 ministers, JD(U) 12 including the CM, HAM one, and one minister was an Independent.

PTI