Janata Dal (United) chief Nitish Kumar on Thursday took oath as the Chief Minister of Bihar for a record 10th time in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other senior leaders of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA).
The oath-taking ceremony was held at Patna’s historic Gandhi Maidan, which has previously hosted Nitish Kumar’s inaugurations in 2005, 2010, and 2015. The venue is also remembered for Jayaprakash Narayan’s iconic 1974 call for a “total revolution.”
Chief Ministers from several NDA-ruled states were in attendance, including Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, Nagaland Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, and Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami.
Bihar Governor Arif Mohammad Khan and LJP (RV) chief Chirag Paswan were among the dignitaries present at the ceremony.
On Wednesday, Nitish Kumar was elected leader of the JD(U) Legislature Party during a meeting with newly elected MLAs at his official residence in Patna. He was also unanimously chosen as the leader of the NDA Legislature Party ahead of the formation of a new government under his leadership.
Samrat Choudhary and Vijay Kumar Sinha were elected as leader and deputy leader of the BJP Legislature Party, respectively, during a meeting at the party’s state headquarters. Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya, appointed as the central observer for the exercise, proposed their names, which were endorsed by all MLAs present.
The 2025 Bihar Assembly elections were widely viewed as a crucial test for Nitish Kumar, who has remained central to the state’s political landscape for nearly two decades.
The 74-year-old leader has served as Chief Minister since November 2005, with a brief nine-month interruption in 2014–15.
Nitish Kumar staked his claim to form the new government after the NDA swept 202 assembly constituencies. He met Governor Arif Mohammad Khan on Wednesday and submitted his resignation before being invited to form the next government.
The NDA registered a historic landslide victory in the 2025 Bihar Assembly polls, winning 202 of the 243 seats. The Mahagathbandhan secured just 35 seats. This is the second time the NDA has crossed the 200-seat mark in Bihar, the first being in 2010 when it won 206 seats.
Within the NDA, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won 89 seats, JD(U) secured 85, Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) won 19, Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) five, and the Rashtriya Lok Morcha four seats.
Among the opposition, the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) won 25 seats, the Indian National Congress secured six, CPI(ML)(L) won two, the Indian Inclusive Party one, and CPI(M) one seat. The All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) bagged five seats, while the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) won one seat.
The elections were conducted in two phases on November 6 and 11. Bihar recorded a historic 67.13 per cent voter turnout, the highest since 1951, with women voters (71.6 per cent) outnumbering men (62.8 per cent).
(ANI)
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