Nitish Kumar sworn in as chief minister of Bihar for ninth time

Along with Nitish Kumar, eight ministers also took oath on Sunday- three each from the BJP and the JD-U, one from HAM-S and one independent. The BJP’s Samrat Chaudhary and Vijay Kumar Sinha have been designated as deputy CMs

Janata Dal-United (JD-U) president Nitish Kumar was sworn in as the chief minister of Bihar for the ninth time with the support of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) after he resigned from the Grand Alliance (GA) government on Sunday.

Nitish Kumar takes oath as the chief minister of Bihar in Patna on Sunday. (ANI)

Along with Kumar, eight ministers-- three each from the BJP and the JD-U, one from HAM-S and one independent-- were also took oath on Sunday. Among the ministers sworn in were Samrat Chowdhary, Vijay Kumar Sinha and Prem Kumar (BJP), Bijendra Prasad Yadav, Vijay Kumar Chowdhary and Shrawan Kumar (JD-U), Santosh Suman (HAM-S and son of Jitan Ram Manjhi) and Sumit Kumar Singh (Independent).

Speaking to media after the swearing in, CM Kumar said that Samrat Chaudhary and Vijay Kumar Sinha have been designated as the deputy CMs. “Very soon the cabinet would be expanded. I have returned where I was earlier. There is no need to go anywhere now. We will remain together now in the interest of Bihar and the state’s development,” said Kumar.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Nitish Kumar after the swearing-in and assured the people of the state of full support for development. “The NDA government formed in Bihar will leave no stone unturned for the development of the state and to fulfil the aspirations of its people,” tweeted PM Modi.

Those who attended the swearing-in included BJP president J P Nadda and LJP (RV) member of Parliament (MP) Chirag Paswan, union ministers Nityanad Rai and Pashupati Paras.

Justifying the government formation, Union minister of state for home affairs Nityanand Rai said that it was necessary for Bihar. “Good government is necessary for Bihar. People of the RJD were creating havoc in Bihar and criminals were getting shelter. Today the NDA government has been formed under the leadership of Nitish Kumar. We will win all 40 seats of Bihar in 2024 and form a government in 2025,” said Rai.

Newly appointed deputy CM Samrat Chaudhary, who had vowed not to remove his turban (head gear) till Kumar gets removed, said, “Our target is 40 Lok Sabha seats.”

Earlier on Sunday morning, Kumar resigned as the chief minister, claiming that things were “not moving right in the Grand Alliance government”.

Kumar, 72, reached Raj Bhavan on Sunday and handed over his resignation to governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar, breaking away from the Grand Alliance, less than 18 months after forming a new government in the state with the support of Lalu Prasad Yadav’s Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD).

Speaking to media persons outside the Raj Bhawan, Kumar said, “Today, I met the governor and resigned as the chief minister of Bihar. I have also told the governor to dissolve the government in the state.”

He added, “Theek nahi chal raha tha (things were not moving well). I was trying to make things move. The RJD’s attitude was bothering me. The situation in the GA government was not good.”

Kumar reached again at Raj Bhawan at 12.40 pm with support letters of the BJP, HAM-S and Independent legislators and staked claim to form government.

The Mahagathbandhan or the Grand Alliance government in Bihar was formed following Kumar’s exit from the NDA in August 2022.

Kumar, who took the lead in forming the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) blamed the slow progress of talks with the INDIA bloc for his exit. He claimed that the INDIA bloc he spearheaded to take on the BJP was not doing its bit at par.

“I was making all efforts to make the INDIA bloc running, but no response was coming. I decided to resign after taking views of all,” said Kumar.

JD-U spokesperson K C Tyagi told reporters in Delhi that the Grand Alliance government in Bihar is on the verge of collapse and accused a section of the Congress leadership of repeatedly “insulting” Kumar. “The INDIA bloc is on the verge of a collapse. The alliance of INDIA bloc parties is almost over in Punjab, West Bengal and Bihar,” he said.

In the Bihar Assembly of 243, the NDA has the support of 128 MLAs (BJP 78, JD-U 45, HAM-S 4, and Independent 1) while the GA has 115 (RJD 79, Congress 19, the Communist Party of India (Marxist–Leninist) Liberation 12, Communist Party of India (Marxist) 2, Communist Party of India 2, and the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen 1).

The majority mark in the 243-member Bihar assembly is 122.