Nitish Sworn In As Bihar CM With 26 Ministers As PM, HM Attend

New Delhi:Bihar’s longest-serving Chief Minister, Nitish Kumar, was sworn in for a record 10th term on Thursday at a grand ceremony held at Gandhi Maidan in Patna. The event, attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union ministers and chief ministers of several NDA-ruled states, marked a show of unity in the newly formed government.

Kumar took the oath of office on a massive makeshift stage set up for the occasion. Union home minister Amit Shah and BJP national president J.P. Nadda, who arrived in Patna on Wednesday night, were also present. Apparently overcome by gratitude, Nitish Kumar tried to touch the feet of Modi. A video has gone viral in which Kumar can be seen trying to touch the feet of Modi, at the airport here, only to be held up firmly by his shoulders by the PM, who clutched both hands of the JD(U) supremo and uttered a few niceties before climbing up the airstairs of his plane.

“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,” Prime Minister Modi posted on X. He delighted the crowd by twirling his signature gamchha, a gesture that has become emblematic of the 75-year-old leader.

Along with Kumar, 26 ministers were sworn in: BJP (14), JD(U) (8), LJP (RV) (2), HAM (1), RLM (1). Samrat Choudhary and Vijay Kumar Sinha, deputy chief ministers in the previous government, were sworn in again after being elected as the BJP’s leader and deputy leader in the Assembly. Nitish said that the new NDA government would work with full commitment for the all-round development of the state. He also thanked the people of the state for the thumping victory of the five-party alliance.

Chief ministers and senior leaders from several NDA-governed states, including Andhra Pradesh CM N. Chandrababu Naidu, Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath, Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma, Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis, Madhya Pradesh CM Mohan Yadav and Delhi BJP leader Rekha Gupta, attended the ceremony.

With 89 seats, the BJP has emerged as the single-largest party in the Bihar Assembly and accordingly secured the largest share of berths in the Cabinet. Returning ministers include Mangal Pandey, Nitin Nabin and Surendra Prasad Mehta, while state BJP president Dilip Jaiswal has rejoined the ministry after stepping down nearly two years ago under the party’s “one person, one post” rule.

New faces from the BJP include international shooting champion Shreyasi Singh, elected from Jamui for a second term, along with Arun Shankar Prasad, Dr. Pramod Kumar, Lakhendra Kumar Raushan, Sanjay Singh Tiger and Rama Nishad. Former Union minister Ram Kripal Yadav, who lost the Pataliputra Lok Sabha seat last year but won from Danapur, was also sworn in.

All eight JD(U) ministers were part of the previous government, including Zama Khan, the NDA’s lone Muslim MLA, Vijay Kumar Chaudhary, Bijendra Yadav, Shrawon Kumar, Leshi Singh, Madan Sahni, Sunil Kumar and Ashok Choudhary.

Among the smaller NDA partners, HAM’s Santosh Suman, son of Jitan Ram Manjhi, returned to the cabinet. LJP (RV) nominees Sanjay Kumar Paswan and Sanjay Kumar Singh also took oath, the latter having defeated Tej Pratap Yadav in Mahua. The RLM, despite winning four seats, is represented by Deepak Prakash, son of the party’s founding president Upendra Kushwaha.

Five ministers in the new cabinet are Dalits, one each from the BJP, LJP (RV) and HAM, and two from the JD(U). Eight ministers belong to upper castes, including four Rajputs, while three Yadavs have also been accommodated.

The maximum permissible strength of the Bihar Cabinet, including the Chief Minister, is 36, leaving room for further expansion.