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Nitish’s oath ceremony to be grand show matching scale of victory: JD(U) leader
The date for the oath would be decided as per the availability Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is expected to attend the ceremony along with other top Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders
Nitish Kumar’s oath-taking ceremony as the chief minister for a record 10th time will be a grand show matching the scale of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA)’s landslide victory, a leader of his Janata Dal (United) or JD(U) said on Sunday.
The date for the oath would be decided as per Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s availability. Modi, who is expected to attend the ceremony along with other top Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders, ended his Bihar election campaign on November 9 with a promise to return for the oath ceremony after the NDA’s victory.
The JD(U) leader said the Election Commission of India will submit the list of the newly-elected assembly members to the governor by Sunday evening. “That is the first step. The last Cabinet meeting of the present government will be held on Monday...Nitish Kumar will then meet the governor to tender his resignation, after which the process for the new government formation will get underway.”
A second JD(U) leader said the formula for the distribution of ministries among the alliance partners has been broadly decided. He said the Cabinet will have a new look, with old and new faces to live up to the expectations of a huge mandate. The Speaker’s post would go to the BJP, as in the past.
Union ministers Sanjay Jha, Lalan Singh of the JD(U), and Dharmendra Pradhan, Vinod Tawde (BJP) held consultations in Delhi over the government formation.
Jha said everything will be finalised in the next few days. “Consultations are going on, as the big mandate means big responsibility to carry on with Bihar’s developmental journey with greater speed and on a larger scale. The new government will take shape soon and before time,” said Jha.
BJP state chief Dilip Jaiswal said that everything was being worked out ahead of the oath ceremony. “It is just a matter of days.”
The term of the Bihar assembly ends on November 22. The election process has to be concluded before that. Legislature party meetings of all the allies and the joint meeting of the NDA will be held on Monday and Tuesday to elect their leader. Nitish Kumar will subsequently stake his claim with a joint letter of support.
A BJP leader said that the Cabinet berths will be allocated as per the old formula based on seats. He added there could be one berth for six seats. The NDA won 202 of the 243 seats. The Rashtriya Janata Dal got its lowest-ever tally of 25.
