Why Did Nitish Kumar Take Oath as Bihar CM for the 10th Time with PM Modi Present?
Synopsis
Key Takeaways
- Nitish Kumar has been sworn in for the 10th time as Chief Minister.
- Prime Minister Modi attended the ceremony, marking a significant political alliance.
- New Deputy Chief Ministers were appointed, including Samrat Choudhary and Vijay Sinha.
- Intense political activity preceded the oath-taking, with support from 202 NDA MLAs.
- Nitish Kumar's leadership continues to shape Bihar's political landscape.
Patna, Nov 20 (NationPress) Nitish Kumar was officially sworn in as the Chief Minister of Bihar on Thursday, with Governor Arif Mohammad Khan administering the oath of office and secrecy at the iconic Gandhi Maidan in Patna.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived at Patna Airport around 11 a.m. and traveled directly to the event venue via helicopter.
Nitish Kumar took the oath for the 10th time at 11:30 a.m.
His initial term as Chief Minister began in 2000, although it only lasted a week. Since regaining power in 2005, he has been sworn in nine times consecutively, marking a historic milestone with today's tenth oath.
This occasion also marks the first time that Prime Minister Modi attended Nitish Kumar's swearing-in ceremony, despite Kumar having taken the oath five times since Modi assumed office in 2014. Throughout this period, he served under both the NDA and the Grand Alliance. Today is significant as it is the first instance of PM Modi being present in Patna for this ceremony.
Samrat Choudhary was sworn in immediately following Nitish Kumar. A victorious MLA from Tarapur, Choudhary has now taken on the role of one of Bihar's Deputy Chief Ministers.
Vijay Sinha was the next to be sworn in and will also serve as Deputy Chief Minister.
Alongside Nitish Kumar, several ministers were administered the oath, including Vijay Kumar Choudhary, Mangal Pandey, Dilip Jaiswal, Shravan Kumar, and Bijendra Yadav.
After the ceremony, the Prime Minister congratulated all the newly sworn-in ministers.
The oath-taking followed a day filled with intense political maneuvers on Wednesday. Around 5 p.m., Nitish Kumar visited Raj Bhavan to assert his claim to form the new government, presenting letters of support from 202 NDA MLAs and resigning as the outgoing Chief Minister.
Governor Arif Mohammad Khan subsequently dissolved the 17th Bihar Legislative Assembly and invited him to form the new government.
Earlier, Nitish Kumar was chosen as the leader of the JD(U) legislative party, while the BJP appointed Samrat Choudhary as its legislative party leader and Vijay Sinha as deputy leader.
Both leaders were sworn in as Deputy Chief Ministers, signifying the onset of the new NDA government in Bihar.