Janata Dal (United) national president Nitish Kumar was sworn in as Bihar Chief Minister for the fourth consecutive term here on Monday.
Besides him, two Deputy Chief Ministers, both from the BJP, were administered oath.
Though as per the constitutional provisions, Nitish can have 36 ministers in the 243-member House, only 15 ministers took oath here at the Raj Bhavan. This includes five from the JD(U), seven from the BJP and one each from the two new smaller allies - HAM and the VIP.
The two new Deputy Chief Ministers – Tarkishore Prasad and Renu Devi – are four-term BJP MLAs from Katihar and Bettiah respectively. Incidentally, both have studied up to Intermediate, but have been associated with the BJP for the last four decades.
Former Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Modi, who was not included in the Nitish’s Cabinet at the behest of the BJP top leadership, was, however, present at the swearing-in, which was also attended by Union Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP president JP Nadda.
The RJD, Congress and the three Left parties boycotted the oath ceremony on the grounds that “the mandate was hijacked at the last minute” in a nail-biting finish in Bihar where the NDA eventually won 125 seats while the Mahagatbandhan got stuck at 110. The magic figure in the Assembly is 122.
This was Nitish’s fourth consecutive term, although technically he was administered the oath for the seventh time in the last two decades. This includes his swearing-in as CM of the undivided Bihar in March 2000, when he could not muster the majority and resigned within a week.
Both Tejashwi and Chirag Paswan congratulated Nitish through their tweets, laced with sarcasm.