Nitish Kumar sworn in as Bihar CM for record 10th time

Janata Dal (United) chief Nitish Kumar was sworn in as Bihar Chief Minister for the record 10th time on Thursday at Patna’s Gandhi Maidan, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in attendance. The PM had skipped the ceremony in 2020.

The event was held at the historic Gandhi Maidan, which also hosted Nitish Kumar’s oath-taking ceremonies in 2005, 2010 and 2015. It is the same venue where Jayaprakash Narayan called for “total revolution” in 1974.

Chief Ministers of several NDA-ruled states, including Haryana’s Nayab Singh Saini, Assam’s Himanta Biswa Sarma, Nagaland’s Neiphiu Rio, Andhra Pradesh’s N Chandrababu Naidu, Uttar Pradesh’s Yogi Adityanath and Uttarakhand’s Pushkar Singh Dhami, were present. Bihar Governor Arif Mohammad Khan and LJP (RV) chief Chirag Paswan also attended.

On Wednesday, Nitish Kumar was elected leader of the JD(U) Legislature Party at a meeting with newly elected MLAs at his Patna residence. He was also unanimously elected leader of the NDA Legislature Party ahead of the formation of the new government.

Samrat Choudhary and Vijay Kumar Sinha were elected leader and deputy leader of the BJP Legislature Party at a meeting held at the state headquarters. Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya, the central observer for the leadership election, proposed their names, which were supported by the MLAs.

The 2025 Bihar Assembly polls were widely viewed as a key test for Nitish Kumar, who has shaped the state’s political landscape for two decades. The 74-year-old has served as Chief Minister since November 2005, barring a nine-month period in 2014–15.

Nitish Kumar staked claim to form the new government after the NDA won 202 seats in the 243-member Assembly. He met Governor Arif Mohammad Khan on Wednesday, tendered his resignation and sought a fresh mandate to form the government.

The NDA’s landslide victory marked the second time it crossed the 200-seat mark in Bihar. In 2010, it had won 206 seats. In the latest election, the BJP secured 89 seats, JD(U) 85, Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) 19, Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) five and Rashtriya Lok Morcha four.

Among opposition parties, the Rashtriya Janata Dal won 25 seats, the Congress six, the CPI(ML) (Liberation) two, the Indian Inclusive Party one and the CPI(M) one seat. AIMIM won five seats and the BSP one seat.

The Assembly elections were held in two phases on November 6 and 11. Bihar recorded a turnout of 67.13 per cent, the highest since 1951, with women’s participation at 71.6 per cent compared to 62.8 per cent for men.