Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar with Deputy Chief Ministers Samrat Choudhary and Vijay Kumar Sinha on the first day of the Winter session of the State Assembly, in Patna, Monday, Dec. 1, 2025.
Credit: PTI Photo
Patna: From bitter acrimony in November to better sense prevailing among the law-makers in December, the Bihar Assembly witnessed an encouraging sign on Monday when new chapters on etiquette were written on the floor of the House on the first day of the first session of the 18th Vidhan Sabha.
The day was slated for the oath of all the 243 newly-elected members. And it began in right earnest with Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary, who has won the Assembly poll from Tarapur as the BJP nominee, being the first one to take oath. Nitish Kumar, the Chief Minister, is already a member of the Legislative Council and was, therefore, not required to take any oath.
Soon after his oath, Samrat moved towards Nitish, touched the feet of the CM and sought his blessings. Nitish, who is a friend of Samrat’s father Shakuni Choudhary since Samata Party days, profusely blessed him.
Samrat then went up to Leader of the Opposition Tejashwi Yadav and shook hands with him as if indicating “let bygones be bygones”.
Another Deputy Chief Minister Vijay Sinha, after his oath, too touched the feet of Nitish and sought his blessings. Later, Sinha, in a strange and healthy sign, hugged Tejashwi, taking the entire House by surprise.
Tejashwi too was at his etiquette best. Soon after his oath, he hugged Agriculture Minister Ram Kripal Yadav, who was earlier his father Lalu Prasad’s trusted aide before crossing over the fence to the BJP.
The oath was administered by Pro-tem Speaker Narendra Narayan Yadav. While maximum MLAs took oath in Hindi, some, including BJP MLA and folk singer Maithili Thakur, took oath in Maithili. Others preferred Urdu and English. However, the ruling party MLA Anita Devi could not take her oath properly. The JD (U) MLA Manorma Devi, sitting next to her, parroted her, following which she could complete her oath.
Equally surprising was the case of former Deputy Chief Minister and senior BJP MLA Renu Devi, who could not take oath correctly. She was sworn in for the second time.
Six MLAs, including jailed JD (U) leader Anant Singh, who was put behind bars during election violence, could not take oath today. They will be sworn-in on Tuesday.