Nitish Kumar to take oath as Bihar CM for record 10th time today; PM Modi, HM Shah to attend the mega event in Patna

Nitish Kumar is all set to be sworn in as chief minister of Bihar for a record 10th time today, days after the NDA secured a landslide victory in the assembly elections. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, and several top NDA leaders are expected to attend the event, which might also see at least 20 ministers taking the oath of office.

The function is expected to start at 11.30 AM at Patna’s iconic Gandhi Maidan.

Kumar, Janata Dal (United) supremo Kumar, submitted his resignation as the outgoing CM to Governor Arif Mohammad Khan on Wednesday. He was accompanied by Union minister Chirag Paswan, RLM chief Upendra Kushwaha and Uttar Pradesh Deputy CM Keshav Prasad Maurya.

Nitish Kumar staked a claim to form the next government after being elected the leader of the NDA legislature party in Bihar on Wednesday. BJP leaders Samrat Choudhary and Vijay Kumar Sinha would be Nitish Kumar’s deputy as they were in the outgoing cabinet.

The last time Kumar, 74, took oath as CM of Bohar was on 28 January 2024 after he, along with his party, joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA).

This will be the fourth time that Kumar will take oath as the CM at the Gandhi Maidan since 2005.

Who all will attend the Nitish Kumar oath-taking today?

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP national president JP Nadda and key NDA ally Chandrababu Naidu, are expected to attend Nitish Kumar’s oath-taking today. Union Home minister Amit Shah will also be in attendance at the event. Shah reached Patna on Wednesday.

Other likely guests include Andhra Pradesh IT minister Nara Lokesh, Odisha chief minister Mohan Charan Majhi, and other CMs of several NDA-ruled states.

Elaborate security arrangements have been put in place, and over three lakh people are expected to attend the event, a senior BJP leader told news agency PTI.

State BJP chief Dilip Jaiswal told reporters that the governor accepted his resignation and asked him to continue as caretaker CM till a new government was formed.

Kumar was elected leader of the NDA legislature party following meetings of newly elected MLAs, where senior leader Samrat Choudhary was chosen as the BJP legislature party leader and Vijay Kumar Sinha as the deputy leader.

Hectic lobbying is underway among NDA allies to finalise cabinet berths continued throughout the day.

The new Bihar Cabinet is expected to include 16 ministers from the BJP and 14 from JD(U), including the party chief. At least 20 ministers may take today along with the chief minister Nitish Kumar.

Who will be the speaker of Bihar Assembly?

A consensus has been reached among NDA partners to appoint BJP’s Prem Kumar as the Assembly Speaker, PTI said, quoting sources. The Deputy Speaker’s post is likely to be filled by JD(U).

6 new faces in Nitish Cabinet

The Cabinet will have five to six new faces from the main constituents of the NDA — the BJP and the JD(U).

Umesh Singh Kushwaha, JD(U) state chief who won from the Mahnar assembly seat, is likely to be inducted in the new Cabinet. While JD(U) is likely set to retain its current ministers, the BJP may bring in a few new faces.

Potential new faces from the BJP include former IPS officer Anand Mishra (elected from Buxar), Rana Randhir, Gayatri Devi, and Vijay Kumar Khemka, sources told the news agency.

“We are aiming for greater representation in the new cabinet,” a JD(U) leader said.

Smaller allies — LJP(RV) led by Union Minister Chirag Paswan, HAM-S led by Jitan Ram Manjhi, and RLM led by Upendra Kushwaha — will also get representation.

“The LJP (RV) is likely to get three berths in the new state cabinet while the HAM-S and RLM one berth each. A maximum of 16 ministers from the BJP and 14 ministers, along with CM Nitish Kumar from JD(U), will take oath on November 20”, sources said.

JD(U) leaders likely to be part of the new Cabinet include Bijendra Prasad Yadav, Vijay Kumar Choudhary, Shrowan Kumar, Sunil Kumar, Lesi Singh, Sheila Mandal, Madan Sahni, Ratnesh Sada, Mohammad Zama Khan, Jayant Raj, Umesh Singh Kushwaha, and Ashok Chowdhary.

Other probable inductees from JD(U) are Rahul Kumar Singh, Sudhanshu Shekhar, Kaladhar Prasad Mandal, and Panna Lal Singh Patel, sources said.

These ministers will continue

Those likely to continue include Samrat Choudhary, Prem Kumar, Mangal Pandey, Vijay Kumar Sinha, Nitish Mishra, Renu Devi, Jibesh Kumar, Neeraj Kumar Singh, Janak Ram, Hari Sahni, Kedar Prasad Gupta, Surendra Mehta, Santosh Kumar Singh, Sunil Kumar, and Motil Lal Prasad.

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.

“Given that our MLA count has risen sharply since 2020, when we had fewer than 50, we expect more berths this time, a JD(U) leader said.

The NDA stormed back to power in Bihar, winning 202 seats in the 243-member assembly, with BJP bagging 89, JD(U) 85, LJP(RV) 19, HAM 5 and RLM 4.