Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Nov 20: The Janata Dal (United) national president Nitish Kumar was on Thursday sworn-in as the Chief Minister of Bihar for a record 10th time at a ceremony held at Gandhi Maidan in the state capital city of Patna with two leaders from the BJP taking oath as deputy chief ministers.
Governor Arif Mohammed Khan administered the oath of office and secrecy to them.
Altogether 26 Cabinet Ministers took oath, out of which 14 are from BJP, 8 from JD(U), 2 from LJP (RV) and one each from HAM (S) and RLM. The NDA government has inducted nine new faces into the Cabinet, including LJP (RV)’s Sanjay Kumar Singh, who defeated Lalu Prasad’s son Tej Pratap Yadav in the Mahua Assembly constituency. Of the 26 ministers, Mr Kumar’s Cabinet features only one Muslim member.
The swearing-in ceremony was attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, BJP national president J.P. Nadda and several other top leaders of the NDA. The event was also attended by the Chief Ministers of several NDA ruled States.
Mr Kumar (71), who is a member of the legislative council (MLC), did not contest the Assembly elections. Sworn-in for the 10th consecutive time, Mr Kumar, who is holding the office for the last 19 years, is among the 10 longest serving chief ministers in the country who have served for 15 years or more as the chief minister of their respective states, the highest among them so far being Naveen Patnaik of the Biju Janata Dal who held the office for 24 years in Odisha.
In the recently-held polls, the NDA stormed back to power in the eastern State, winning 202 seats in the 243-member Assembly, with BJP bagging 89, JD(U) 85, LJP(RV) 19, HAM 5 and RLM 4. The opposition alliance “Mahagathbandhan” was down and out with only 35 seats with six seats going to other smaller parties and independents.
Mr Kumar, however, remained in office by switching alliances three times. Even after the continuous change in alliance between the BJP and the RJD, Mr Kumar managed to win in all the elections since 2005 and remained the Chief Minister (CM) changing sides.
Mr Kumar entered politics as a member of Janata Dal and was elected to the State Assembly as an MLA in 1985. As someone who lobbied for Lalu Prasad, Mr Kumar got all the support for Mr Prasad for the Chief Minister’s post in 1990. But in 1994, a group of 14 Janata Dal MPs revolted against Mr Prasad, lining up behind socialist stalwart George Fernandes and naming the group Janata Dal (George). While Fernandes was the face of the group, Mr Kumar was its creator. The group later renamed itself the Samata Party.
In 2000, Mr Kumar became the Chief Minister for the first time, but lasted only seven days. He became the Chief Minister again in 2005. In 2015, he again switched sides by joining the Mahagathbandhan and became the Chief Minister again. But the partnership didn’t last for a long time. He returned to NDA and again won the election in 2020 and became the Chief Minister again.
A look at the political career of Nitish Kumar through the years
1985: Nitish Kumar elected to the State Assembly
1989: Backs Lalu Prasad in bagging the chair of the Leader of the Opposition
1994: A group of 14 Janata Dal MPs revolted against Lalu Prasad, lining up behind socialist stalwart George Fernandes and naming the group Janata Dal (George). While Fernandes was the face of the group, Mr Kumar was its creator. The group later renamed itself the Samata Party.
1996: Switches loyalty to the BJP
From 1998 to 2004: He served in the NDA government under A.B. Vajpayee in various capacities as the Railway, Surface Transport and Agriculture Minister
2000: He became the Chief Minister of Bihar for the first time, with support from the BJP-led NDA. Resigned after seven days after failing to prove majority in the Assembly
2003: The Samata Party officially merged with the Janata Dal (United)
2005: Mr Kumar became Bihar Chief Minister with the BJP as the coalition partner
2010: NDA wins, and Mr Kumar again became the Chief Minister
2013: Broke alliance with the BJP when it was clear that Narendra Modi was the BJP’s prime ministerial candidate
2015: Allies with Lalu Prasad and contests the Assembly election, forming a grand alliance (Mahagathbandhan) with the Congress. Becomes the CM
2017: Takes another U-turn, decides to ally with the BJP to form the government in the State. Takes oath as CM for the sixth time, this time with the BJP’s help.
2020: NDA secured a win in the election, but JD(U) was reduced to 43 seats. Mr Kumar became the seventh CM.
2025: Nitish Kumar led the NDA to a huge win in the State Assembly election, with the ruling coalition’s seat tally crossing 200 in the 243-strong legislature. He was sworn-in as the Chief Minister of Bihar for a record 10th time.
The Prime Minister congratulated Mr Kumar as an “Experienced Administrator” and said he had “proven track record of good governance for many years.” “My best wishes to him for his tenure ahead,” he added.
Mr Modi also congratulated other ministers sworn-in with Mr Kumar. “My best wishes to all those who have taken oath as ministers in the Bihar Government. This is a wonderful team, with dedicated leaders who will take Bihar to new heights. Wishing them the very best,” Mr Modi wrote on X.
