On Thursday, November 20, Nitish Kumar took the oath as Bihar's Chief Minister for an unprecedented tenth term, continuing his long-standing influence in the state's political arena.
The president of Janata Dal (United) was unanimously selected as the leader of both the JD(U) Legislature Party and the National Democratic Alliance Legislature Party the previous day, paving the way for the establishment of the new government.
Leadership of the NDA Legislative Party
At a meeting held on Wednesday in Patna, the newly elected JD(U) MLAs chose Kumar as the leader of their Legislature Party at his official residence. Subsequently, the NDA partners unanimously supported him to lead the alliance government.
Leadership of the BJP Legislative Party
During a concurrent gathering at the BJP's state headquarters, Samrat Choudhary and Vijay Kumar Sinha were chosen as the leader and deputy leader of the BJP Legislature Party. Keshav Prasad Maurya, the Deputy Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, who was designated as the central observer for the proceedings, suggested both names, which received unanimous support from all attending MLAs. These events suggest that Choudhary and Sinha are expected to maintain their roles as Deputy Chief Ministers, continuing from the prior administration.
Prominent Figures Present at Swearing-In Event
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, and BJP national president JP Nadda were present at the swearing-in ceremony, along with chief ministers from various NDA-governed states. Shah and Nadda had reached Patna on Wednesday prior to the occasion.
Alliance Composition and Cabinet Allocation
Kumar resigned from his position as Chief Minister on Wednesday prior to asserting his intention to establish a new government. According to the agreement within the NDA, ministerial positions will reportedly be distributed in proportion. In addition to the BJP and JD(U), the smaller alliance partners are anticipated to be granted one cabinet seat for every six MLAs.
It is anticipated that one minister will be from the Rashtriya Lok Morcha, another from the Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular), and three from Chirag Paswan’s Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas). Sources indicate that eight MLAs from both the BJP and JD(U) are set to be sworn in today, in addition to one MLA each from RLM, HAM(S), and the LJP (Ram Vilas).