Nitish Kumar takes oath as Bihar CM for record 9th time after returning to NDA

New Delhi : In a dramatic twists and turns in Bihar politics, Nitish Kumar took oath as Chief Minister for the record ninth time after he announced return to NDA-led government in the state. Two Deputy Chief Ministers — Samrat Chaudhary and Vijay Kumar Sinha — of the BJP, along with six other ministers were also expected to be sworn in.

The oath ceremony was held at Raj Bhavan in Patna, Bihar. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief JP Nadda and Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) chief Chirag Paswan were also present at the event.

On Sunday morning, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar submitted his resignation from the post to the governor. He accepted the resignation and deputed him as acting Chief Minister. According to media reports, Nitish Kumar told the governor that his party JD(U) is diluting its ties with Mahagathbandan in the state. In 2022, Nitish Kumar had formed the Bihar government in alliance with the Rashtriya Janta Dal (RJD) and Left parties. The coalition was called ‘Mahagathbandhan’.

Now, Nitish Kumar has moved out from the Mahagathbandhan and has returned to BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA). Interestingly, the decision to join hands with NDA comes a couple of weeks before the Lok Sabha elections.

Speaking to journalists, Nitish Kumar said, "I have submitted my resignation as the Chief Minister, and I have also requested the Governor to dissolve the state government. This decision arose due to certain issues as things were not proceeding smoothly. I sought opinions from various sources and considered all perspectives. Consequently, the government has now been dissolved."