Nitish Kumar will be sworn in as Chief Minister for the tenth time on Thursday, with the ceremony scheduled at 11:30 am at Patna’s historic Gandhi Maidan. The event is expected to draw massive crowds, with over three lakh people likely to attend, and will feature a high-profile lineup of national leaders.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will headline the ceremony, alongside Home Minister Amit Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, BJP President JP Nadda, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. Their presence signals the significance the NDA is placing on its renewed mandate in Bihar.
Security Tightened In Patna
Security across Gandhi Maidan and adjoining areas has been tightened, with additional police deployment, surveillance systems and emergency medical teams put in place.
Nitish Kumar resigned on Wednesday, met Governor Arif Mohammad Khan and staked a claim to form the new government. He was accompanied by Union Minister Chirag Paswan, RLM chief Upendra Kushwaha and UP Deputy CM Keshav Prasad Maurya. Later, he was unanimously elected leader of the NDA legislature party.
Within the NDA, Samrat Choudhary was chosen as the BJP’s legislature party leader, with Vijay Kumar Sinha as his deputy. Maurya, sent as the BJP’s central observer, oversaw the leadership selection.
New Bihar Cabinet
A new Cabinet is expected to take shape soon. JD(U) leaders likely to be inducted include Bijendra Prasad Yadav, Vijay Kumar Choudhary, Lesi Singh, Madan Sahni, Jayant Raj and Ashok Choudhary, among others. The BJP is likely to retain several senior ministers, including Samrat Choudhary, Mangal Pandey, Renu Devi, Jibesh Kumar and Prem Kumar.
Nitish Kumar’s swearing-in marks yet another chapter in his four-decade political journey, defined by shifting alliances and repeated comebacks. From his early Janata Dal days to forming the Samata Party, partnering with the BJP in the late 1990s, breaking away in 2013, joining and exiting the Mahagathbandhan twice, and finally returning to the NDA, his career remains one of the most eventful in Indian politics.
As he prepares to take the oath for the tenth time, Nitish Kumar reinforces his position as one of India’s most durable and politically agile leaders.