Nitish Kumar was on Monday sworn in as the chief minister of Bihar for the seventh time, in presence of top leaders of the NDA including Union home minister Amit Shah and BJP national president Jagat Prakash Nadda. Nitish Kumar, who heads the JD(U), was administered the oath of office at Raj Bhavan by Governor Phagu Chauhan, a day after he staked claim for the formation of a new government in the state, armed with unanimous support of all legislators of the NDA despite his party’s low tally.
Tarkishore Prasad and Renu Devi have been sworn in as deputy chief ministers.
Congratulating Nitish, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday asserted that all constituents of the NDA in Bihar will work together for the state's progress. In a tweet, Modi also assured the JD(U) leader of all possible support from the Centre for the state's welfare.
"Congratulations to Nitish Kumar Ji on taking oath as Bihar's CM. I also congratulate all those who took oath as Ministers in the Bihar Government. The NDA family will work together for the progress of Bihar. I assure all possible support from the Centre for the welfare of Bihar," Modi said.
Nitish who has had a continuous run since November 2005, except for the period in 2014-15 when Jitan Ram Manjhi kept the chair warm for him, is on course to becoming the longest serving chief minister of the state, surpassing the record of Shrikrishna Singh who held the top post since before Independence till his death in 1961.
Nitish was first sworn in as CM in 2000, for a term that lasted barely a week as he failed to muster a majority and returned as a minister at the Centre in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government.
Five years later, he returned with the JD(U)-BJP alliance winning a majority and upon completion of his tenure returned in 2010 when the coalition won a landslide victory in the assembly polls. He stepped down in May 2014, owning moral responsibility for the JD(U)’s debacle in Lok Sabha polls, only to return in February 2015 when a rebellious Manjhi was elbowed out.
In November 2015, the assembly polls were fought and won by the Grand Alliance which then comprised JD(U), Lalu Prasad’s RJD and Congress with Kumar back as the Chief minister. He, however, abruptly exited the alliance in July 2017, citing irreconcilable differences with the RJD and resigned as chief minister only to return in less than 24 hours armed with the support of the BJP.
Meanwhile, the Grand Alliance on Monday decided to boycott the oath-taking ceremony claiming the mandate in the elections was "against the NDA". The RJD, which emerged as the single largest party in Bihar with 75 seats, also claimed the state is getting a "helpless government run by the two helpless parties".
The NDA won 125 of Bihar's 243 assembly seats, just three seats above the halfway mark.
