Bihar: Nitish Kumar To Be Sworn In As Chief Minister, Suspense On Deputy CM Continues, Oath Ceremony To Be Held Tomorrow

Nitish Kumar has been elected as legislature party leader and will meet the governor today to submit the proposal to form the government.

Bihar CM Nitish Kumar. (Image: PTI)

NDA held a meeting on Sunday where Nitish Kumar was elected as the leader of the NDA legislature party and will return for a consecutive fourth term as chief minister. The meeting was held in the presence of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, former Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and other eminent BJP leaders. Nitish Kumar will take oath on Monday (November 16) at 11:30 AM at Governor's House in Patna. This will be the Nitish's fourth consecutive term as the CM of Bihar. The formal announcement of Nitish Kumar's as NDA leader in Bihar came after a meeting which was attended by senior NDA leaders in Patna. After Nitish Kumar was elected as legislature party head, Nitish Kumar said that he did not wish to be the Chief Minister of Bihar but wanted someone from BJP on the chair. Nitish Kumar said that he accepted the position as BJP wanted him to take the CM's chair.

Sushil Modi to take oath as Deputy CM?

Sushil Modi will be the deputy CM or not is still suspense as Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said that the decision has not been taken yet. Earlier, Nitish Kumar had dissolved the Bihar Assembly and handed over his resignation to Governor Phagu Chauhan. On November 12, two days after the Bihar assembly election result were announced, CM Nitish said that decision on who will be the next Chief Minister will be taken by the alliance, indicating the matter is still being discussed despite assurances from BJP that he would retain the post. The NDA won 125 seats in the 243-member Bihar assembly against 110 clinched by the opposition Grand Alliance. The JD(U)'s tally of 43 this time, down from 71, is its worst performance since the 2005 Assembly polls. The party to emerge as the single-largest was the RJD with 75 seats but an underwhelming performance by the Congress, at just 19 seats, meant the Mahagathbandhan fell short of the half-way mark in the 243-member assembly. Both RJD and Congress on Sunday questioned the NDA’s decision to make Nitish the CM again despite him not getting the mandate.