Bihars comeback king: Nitish Kumar to swear in for 10th term, NDA gears up for fresh power play

JD(U) supremo Nitish Kumar is set to take oath as Bihars chief minister for a record 10th time today, days after the NDA secured a decisive victory in the assembly elections. The swearing-in ceremony is scheduled at Patnas historic Gandhi Maidan, where Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, and several top NDA leaders are expected to attend. In addition to the main stage, several pandals have been erected to accommodate VIPs, while elaborate security arrangements have been put in place, with over three lakh people anticipated to be present, according to a senior BJP leader. Kumar submitted his resignation as the outgoing chief minister to Governor Arif Mohammad Khan on Wednesday. He was accompanied by Union Minister Chirag Paswan, RLM chief Upendra Kushwaha, and Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya. State BJP chief Dilip Jaiswal told reporters that the governor accepted the resignation and asked Kumar to continue as caretaker CM until the new government was formed. Ahead of the ceremony, Nitish Kumar on Thursday took to X to share his thoughts, I, Nitish Kumar, swear by God This sentence is a symbol of the unwavering faith and self-confidence of crores of Biharis. Today, from the historic Gandhi Maidan, this voice will echo once again, and Bihar will embark on a new journey of development, he wrote. He extended his congratulations and best wishes to all Biharis on the occasion, calling it a historic moment for the state. Earlier, JD(U) had shared a post stating, History is about to be made in Bihar. Honorable Nitish Kumar ji will take the oath for the post of Chief Minister, a symbol of Bihar's development and trust. Bihar will write another new chapter of development; this moment will be a moment of pride for all Biharis. Let us all witness this historic moment. Following meetings of newly elected MLAs, Kumar was elected leader of the NDA legislature party. Senior BJP leader Samrat Choudhary was chosen as the partys legislature leader, with Vijay Kumar Sinha appointed deputy leader. Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya, appointed as central observer by the BJP for the legislature party election in Bihar, was present at the meeting, alongside Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal and former Union Minister Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti, who were co-observers for the process. Lobbying among NDA allies to finalise cabinet berths continued throughout the day. Sources said the new Bihar Cabinet is expected to include 16 ministers from the BJP and 14 from JD(U), including CM Nitish Kumar. Consensus has reportedly been reached among NDA partners to appoint BJPs Prem Kumar as Assembly Speaker, with the Deputy Speakers post likely going to JD(U). Sources indicate that five to six new faces are expected in the cabinet from the main NDA constituents BJP and JD(U). Umesh Singh Kushwaha, JD(U) state chief and Mahnar MLA, is likely to be inducted. While JD(U) is expected to retain most of its current ministers, the BJP may bring in a few new faces. Smaller allies LJP(RV) led by Union Minister Chirag Paswan, HAM-S led by Jitan Ram Manjhi, and RLM led by Upendra Kushwaha will also get representation. The LJP(RV) is expected to get three berths, HAM-S and RLM one berth each. In total, 16 BJP ministers, 14 JD(U) ministers, and CM Nitish Kumar will take oath on November 20. JD(U) leaders likely to be part of the 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, Ashok Chowdhary, Rahul Kumar Singh, Sudhanshu Shekhar, Kaladhar Prasad Mandal, and Panna Lal Singh Patel. Outgoing BJP ministers expected 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. JD(U) leaders highlighted that, given the partys sharp rise in MLA count since 2020, more cabinet berths were expected this term. In the outgoing government, BJP had 15 ministers, JD(U) 12 including CM Nitish Kumar, HAM-S had one, and one Independent minister. The NDA stormed back to power in Bihar, winning 202 seats in the 243-member assembly. BJP secured 89 seats, JD(U) 85, 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 received less than 4% of votes. In an interview with NDTV , he said, My decision not to contest polls can be considered a mistake. We have to do a lot to achieve a satisfactory result. I had never expected that our party would get less than 4% votes in the assembly polls. Kishor also asserted his commitment to future electoral efforts, stating, I will not back down without winning Bihar. I dont know how much time it will take.