Nitish Kumar to Take Oath as Bihar CM on Nov 20
The sources said Kumar is likely to submit his resignation to the Governor as head of the outgoing government on November 19
New Delhi/Patna: The swearing-in ceremony of the new government in Bihar is likely to take place on November 20. BJP state unit chief Dilip Jaiswal said in Patna that incumbent chief minister and JD(U) leader Nitish Kumar will continue in the post.
Mr Kumar called on Bihar governor Arif Mohammad Khan on Monday and apprised him of the state Cabinet’s recommendation to dissolve the Assembly on November 19. The NDA legislature party is all set to meet on November 19, and elect Mr Nitish Kumar as its leader. He is expected to meet the governor that day and formally submit his resignation, marking the end of the outgoing NDA government.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and several top NDA leaders, including Union ministers Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh and Dharmendra Pradhan, as well as the chief ministers of NDA-ruled states are expected to take part in the oath-taking ceremony, which will be held at Patna’s historic Gandhi Maidan. The BJP legislature party meeting is also likely to take place in Patna on Wednesday to elect its leader.
With the process on for the formation of the new government, there are talks within the NDA that the LJP (RV) is likely to get three berths in the new state Cabinet while the HAM and RLM could get one berth each. Senior alliance partner BJP could get a maximum of 16 ministers, while the JD(U) is likely to get 14 ministers.
In the just-concluded Assembly polls, the NDA bagged more than 202 seats in the 243-member House, with the BJP winning the maximum number of 89 seats, followed by the JD(U)’s tally of 85.
The last Cabinet meeting of the outgoing NDA government in Bihar on Monday “authorised” chief minister Nitish Kumar to recommend dissolution of the Assembly, a state minister said. “The CM met governor Arif Mohammad Khan soon after the meeting to apprise him about the decision of the Cabinet. At the meeting, the council of ministers passed a resolution to recommend the dissolution of the Assembly on November 19,” senior JD(U) leader and parliamentary affairs minister Vijay Choudhary told reporters. Mr Kumar, accompanied by deputy CM Samrat Choudhary and chief secretary Pratyaya Amrit, met the governor after the meeting.
Meanwhile, sources said the new Cabinet is likely to include five to six fresh faces from the main constituents, BJP and JD(U). While the JD(U) is set to retain most of its ministers, the BJP may introduce a few new faces, the sources said.
The historic Gandhi Maidan, venue for the swearing-in ceremony, has been closed to the public until November 20. The Patna district administration said the entry of ordinary citizens has been barred and a large security deployment has been put in place, given that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to attend the ceremony.
