Nitish Takes Oath As Bihar CM, Gets 2 Deputies From BJP; Overall 14 Ministers Get Cabinet Berth

Nitish Kumar took oath as Bihar Chief Minister for the seventh time on Monday, along with 14 other ministers at a ceremony in Patna in presence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP chief Jagat Prakash Nadda, even as the RJD said it was boycotting the event as the mandate was against the NDA.

Kumar, along with a 14-member council of ministers, was administered the oath of office at Raj Bhavan by Governor Phagu Chauhan, a day after the JD(U) chief staked claim for the formation of a new government in the state.

#WATCH: Nitish Kumar takes oath as the Chief Minister of Bihar for the seventh time - his fourth consecutive term. pic.twitter.com/5jcZXabSYw

— ANI (@ANI) November 16, 2020

BJP leaders Tarkishore Prasad and Renu Devi took oath as the Deputy CMs after replacing Sushil Modi, who had been deputy CM for 15 years.

Among the 14 ministers who took oath, five ministers are from the JDU — Vijendra Yadav, Vijay Choudhary, Ashok Choudhary, Mewalal Choudhary, and Sheela Mandal, and other than the two Deputies, those from the BJP included Mangal Pandey, Amarendra Pratap Singh, Ramprit Paswan, Jibesh Kumar and Ram Surat Rai while one each was from HAM MLC Santosh Kumar Suman, son of Jitan Ram Manjhi, also took oath besides Mukesh Sahni, the founder of VIP.

PM Narendra Modi congratulated the Nitish Kumar along with other ministers on taking the oath.

Congratulations to @NitishKumar 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.

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) November 16, 2020

RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav while congratulating Nitish Kumar, said “I hope that instead of his desire for the chair, he will focus on the aspirations of Bihar’s people, and make the NDA’s promises of 19 lakh jobs, providing education opportunities, health and irrigation facilities his priority.”

आदरणीय श्री नीतीश कुमार जी को मुख्यमंत्री ‘मनोनीत’ होने पर शुभकामनाएँ। आशा करता हूँ कि कुर्सी की महत्वाकांक्षा की बजाय वो बिहार की जनाकांक्षा एवं NDA के 19 लाख नौकरी-रोजगार और पढ़ाई, दवाई, कमाई, सिंचाई, सुनवाई जैसे सकारात्मक मुद्दों को सरकार की प्राथमिकता बनायेंगे।

— Tejashwi Yadav (@yadavtejashwi) November 16, 2020

LJP's Chirag Paswan who openly posed a challenge to Nitish Kumar in the election fray also congratulated him on becoming the Chief Minister. 

आदरणीय @NitishKumar जी को फिर से मुख्यमंत्री बनने की बधाई। आशा करता हूँ सरकार अपना कार्यकाल पुरा करेगी और आप एन॰डी॰ए॰ के ही मुख्यमंत्री बने रहेंगे।

— युवा बिहारी चिराग पासवान (@iChiragPaswan) November 16, 2020

In the recently concluded Bihar elections, the NDA won 125 of Bihar's 243 assembly seats, three above the halfway mark, while Nitish's JDU delivered a dismal performance, winning 43 seats compared to the unprecedented 74 seats of the BJP, which has now become the big brother in the alliance.