Nitish Kumar met Bihar Governor Arif Mohd Khan Wednesday afternoon to stake claim to form the next government in the state, following an emphatic win in last week's election. The Janata Dal United leader - whose party won an impressive 85 seats, 42 more than it managed in the 2015 election - will be sworn in, again, as the Chief Minister at 1.30 pm Thursday.
22 ministers are expected to take their oaths with Nitish Kumar in what will certainly be a grand event headlined by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Nitish Kumar sharing screen time - a statement of strength to critics of the BJP-JDU relationship.
Besides the PM, chief ministers of all BJP-ruled states will likely also be present.
The 22 to be sworn in will likely include nine MLAs from the Bharatiya Janata Party.
The list is expected to include outgoing deputy chief ministers Samrat Choudhary and Vijay Sinha, as well as a former holder of that post in Renu Devi. Eight of these nine are outgoing ministers.
The 22 may also include one each from Chirag Paswan's Lok Janshakti Party, ex-Chief Minister Jitan Manjhi's Hindustan Awami Morcha, and Upendra Kushwaha's Rashtriya Lok Morcha. Like the JDU, the LJP turned in a dominant show in this election, winning 19 of the 28 seats it was allotted for a better strike rate than even Nitish Kumar's party.
READ | Team Nitish's Oath Thursday, JDU-BJP Balance Caste Math In Minister Picks
Sources said the JDU - now re-established as the 'big brother' in its relationship with the BJP - is expected take the lion's share of ministerial berths at this time, with 10 MLAs, eight of whom were members of the outgoing government.
Sans a miraculous intervention, Nitish Kumar will take charge for a record-extending tenth time.
READ | As Nitish Kumar Eyes 10th Term, A Look At Longest-Serving Chief Ministers
The wily JDU boss - whose political longevity, critics complain, is fuelled by an uncanny ability to stay relevant and in power by switching and re-make alliances on the fly - is already independent India's eighth longest-serving chief minister. And, if he serves out this term, he will be the longest-serving ever, eclipsing ex-Sikkim Chief Minister Pawan Chamling's 24 years.
The BJP-led National Democratic Alliance cruised to victory in the Bihar election, sweeping 202 of the state's 243 seats.
The opposition Mahagathbandhan, consisting of the Rashtriya Janata Dal, Congress, Mukesh Sahani's Vikassheel Insaan Party, and a Left bloc, finished with just 35. To understand the scale of the opposition's defeat, the Tejashwi Yadav-led RJD secured 75 seats on its own in the 2015 election, and the alliance finished with 110, 12 below the majority mark.
Ex-poll strategist Prashant Kishor's Jan Suraaj made its debut but flopped, winning zero of the 238 seats it contested and securing fewer than four per cent of the votes. But Kishor told NDTV this afternoon he will continue his political career.
NDTV is now available on WhatsApp channels. Click on the link to get all the latest updates from NDTV on your chat.
