19 November,2025 10:42 PM IST | Patna | mid-day online correspondent
JD(U) supremo Nitish Kumar being garlanded by Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, BJP leader Samrat Choudhary, and others. Pic/PTI
Janata Dal (United) chief Nitish Kumar is set to take oath as Bihar Chief Minister (CM) for a record 10th time on Thursday, days after the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) secured a sweeping victory in the assembly elections.
Preparations for the swearing-in ceremony at Patna's historic Gandhi Maidan are in the final stages, with Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and several senior NDA leaders expected to attend.
Multiple pandals have been constructed for VIPs, and elaborate security measures have been put in place. A senior BJP leader said that over three lakh people are likely to attend the event.
Kumar tendered his resignation as outgoing CM to Governor Arif Mohammad Khan on Wednesday. He was accompanied by Union Minister Chirag Paswan, Rashtriya Lok Morcha (RLM) chief Upendra Kushwaha and Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya, news agency PTI reported.
State BJP President Dilip Jaiswal told reporters that the governor accepted Kumar's resignation and asked him to continue as caretaker CM until the new government is formed.
Kumar was later elected leader of the NDA Legislature Party at a meeting of newly elected MLAs. Senior BJP leader Samrat Choudhary was chosen as the BJP Legislature Party leader, while Vijay Kumar Sinha was appointed the deputy leader.
Keshav Prasad Maurya, who served as BJP's central observer for the leadership election, attended the meeting along with Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal and former Union Minister Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti, who acted as co-observers, PTI reported.
Meanwhile, hectic negotiations continued among NDA partners to finalise cabinet berths. The new Bihar Cabinet is expected to include 16 ministers from the BJP and 14 from JD(U), including Kumar. Sources told PTI there is broad agreement among allies to appoint BJP's Prem Kumar as Assembly Speaker, with the Deputy Speaker's post likely to go to JD(U).
Sources added that the Cabinet may see five to six new faces from both major partners. JD(U) state president Umesh Singh Kushwaha, who won from Mahnar, is among those likely to be inducted.
While JD(U) is expected to retain most of its current ministers, BJP may introduce a few new faces. Smaller allies - the LJP (Ram Vilas) led by Chirag Paswan, HAM-S led by Jitan Ram Manjhi, and RLM led by Upendra Kushwaha - will also find representation.
"The LJP (RV) is likely to get three berths in the new state cabinet, while the HAM-S and RLM may get one berth each. A maximum of 16 ministers from the BJP and 14, along with CM Nitish Kumar from the JD(U), will take oath on November 20," a source told PTI.
Among the JD(U) leaders likely to be included in the new Cabinet are Bijendra Prasad Yadav, Vijay Kumar Choudhary, Shrawan Kumar, Sunil Kumar, Lesi Singh, Sheila Mandal, Madan Sahni, Ratnesh Sada, Mohammad Zama Khan, Jayant Raj, Umesh Singh Kushwaha and Ashok Chowdhary. Other potential inductees include Rahul Kumar Singh, Sudhanshu Shekhar, Kaladhar Prasad Mandal and Panna Lal Singh Patel.
BJP sources said most ministers from the outgoing Cabinet are likely to be retained, though the party is considering three new names. Those expected to continue include Samrat Choudhary, Prem Kumar, Mangal Pandey, Vijay Kumar Sinha, Nitish Mishra, Renu Devi, Jibesh Kumar, Neeraj Kumar Singh, Janak Ram, Hari Sahni, Kedar Prasad Gupta, Surendra Mehta, Santosh Kumar Singh, Sunil Kumar and Motil Lal Prasad.
Potential new BJP faces include former IPS officer Anand Mishra, who was elected from Buxar, as well as Rana Randhir, Gayatri Devi and Vijay Kumar Khemka.
"We are aiming for greater representation in the new Cabinet," a JD(U) leader said. The BJP had 15 ministers in the outgoing government, while the JD(U) had 12, including Kumar. Smaller allies had one berth each.
"Given that our MLA count has risen sharply since 2020, when we had fewer than 50 seats, we expect more berths this time," a JD(U) leader added.
The NDA swept back to power in Bihar, winning 202 of the 243 seats. The BJP won 89 seats, the JD(U) 85, the LJP (RV) 19, HAM-S five and the RLM four.
Meanwhile, Jan Suraaj founder Prashant Kishor said his decision not to contest the Bihar elections was a "mistake", noting that his party secured less than 4 per cent of the vote.
In an interview with NDTV India, Kishor said, "My decision not to contest polls can be considered a mistake. We have to do a lot to achieve a satisfactory result. I had never expected that our party would get less than 4 per cent votes in the assembly polls."
He added that his political efforts would continue: "I will not back down without winning Bihar. I don't know how much time it will take."
(With PTI inputs)
