NEW DELHI: The stage is set for the Janata Dal (United) supremo Nitish Kumar, who has been Bihar Chief Minister for a majority of the last two decades, to take oath for a record 10th time on Thursday, six days after the ruling NDA defied anti-incumbency and secured a landslide victory in the recently held Assembly elections.
The swearing-in of the 74-year-old leader as Chief Minister is special as he has emerged stronger for the fifth term and the JD(U) bagged 85 seats in the 243-member state Assembly.
Preparations for the swearing-in ceremony at Patna’s historic Gandhi Maidan are in the final stages, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, BJP chief J P Nadda and several top NDA leaders and chief ministers expected to attend. Several pandals have also been erected to accommodate VIPs.
Elaborate security arrangements have been put in place, and over three lakh people are anticipated at the event, according to BJP sources.
Earlier, Nitish Kumar submitted his resignation as the outgoing CM to Governor Arif Mohammad Khan. He was accompanied by Union minister Chirag Paswan, RLM chief Upendra Kushwaha and Uttar Pradesh Deputy CM Keshav Prasad Maurya. The resignation paves the way for the 18th Assembly, which will be constituted with the swearing-in of the chief minister and the state Cabinet ministers.
State BJP chief Dilip Jaiswal told reporters that the governor accepted his resignation and asked him to continue as caretaker CM till a new government was formed.
Kumar was elected leader of the NDA legislature party following meetings of newly elected MLAs, where senior leader Samrat Choudhary was chosen as the BJP legislature party leader and Vijay Kumar Sinha as the deputy leader.
Meanwhile, lobbying among NDA allies to finalise Cabinet berths continued throughout the day. The new Bihar Cabinet is expected to include 16 ministers from the BJP and 14 from JD(U), including the party chief.
Sources said consensus has been reached among NDA partners to appoint BJP’s Prem Kumar as the Assembly Speaker. The Deputy Speaker’s post is likely to go to JD(U).
Sources said the new Cabinet will have five to six new faces from the main constituents of the NDA — the BJP and the JD(U). Umesh Singh Kushwaha, JD(U) state chief who won from Mahnar Assembly seat, is likely to be inducted in the new Cabinet.
All eyes are on whether there will be two Deputy Chief Ministers again, or will the number increase? Will Nitish fill all positions immediately or keep some vacant for future adjustments?
For Nitish Kumar, this is more than just forming a government – the exercise is more about managing allies and balancing caste, social and economic equations. Every choice will carry a message for Bihar and beyond.
Smaller allies — LJP(RV) led by Chirag Paswan, HAM-S led by Jitan Ram Manjhi, and RLM led by Upendra Kushwaha — will also get representation.
“The LJP (RV) is likely to get three berths in the new state Cabinet while the HAM-S and RLM one berth each. A maximum of 16 ministers from the BJP and 14 ministers, along with CM Nitish Kumar from JD(U), will take oath on November 20”, sources said.
JD(U) leaders likely to be part of the new Cabinet include Bijendra Prasad Yadav, Vijay Kumar Choudhary, Shrowan Kumar, Sunil Kumar, Lesi Singh, Sheila Mandal, Madan Sahni, Ratnesh Sada, Mohammad Zama Khan, Jayant Raj, Umesh Singh Kushwaha, and Ashok Chowdhary.
Other probable inductees from JD(U) are Rahul Kumar Singh, Sudhanshu Shekhar, Kaladhar Prasad Mandal, and Panna Lal Singh Patel, sources said. BJP sources said most ministers from the outgoing Cabinet will be retained, with the party considering three new faces.
Those likely to continue include Samrat Choudhary, Prem Kumar, Mangal Pandey, Vijay Kumar Sinha, Nitish Mishra, Renu Devi, Jibesh Kumar, Neeraj Kumar Singh, Janak Ram, Hari Sahni, Kedar Prasad Gupta, Surendra Mehta, Santosh Kumar Singh, Sunil Kumar, and Motil Lal Prasad.
Potential new faces from BJP include former IPS officer Anand Mishra (elected from Buxar), Rana Randhir, Gayatri Devi, and Vijay Kumar Khemka, sources said.
In the outgoing government, the BJP had 15 ministers, JD(U) 12 including CM Nitish Kumar, Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) had one, and one minister who was an Independent candidate.
The NDA stormed back to power in Bihar, winning 202 seats in the 243-member Assembly, with BJP bagging 89, LJP(RV) 19, HAM 5 and RLM 4. Meanwhile, Jan Suraaj founder Prashant Kishor described his decision not to contest the Bihar polls as a “mistake”, noting that his party secured less than 4 per cent of votes. He affirmed his commitment to future electoral efforts in the state.