Nitish Kumar was sworn in as Chief Minister of Bihar - at Patna's historic Gandhi Maidan for a record-extending tenth time - Thursday morning, capping a triumphant victory in last week's Assembly election.
The Janata Dal United boss, dismissed by his critics as too old and unfit for power, had the last laugh after his party swept 85 of the state's 243 seats to power itself and its main ally, the Bharatiya Janata Party, to a landslide win; the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance won 202 seats.
The Gandhi Maidan event also served as a show of strength for rivals of the NDA, a reminder of its crushing win; apart from Prime Minister Narendra Modi, chief ministers from BJP-ruled states and from those ruled by allies, such as Andhra Pradesh's N Chandrababu Naidu, were present, and Madhya Pradesh's Mohan Yadav told reporters, "Bihar is once again on the path of development... it will progress with PM Modi's blessings... will progress through good governance and development."
Nitish Kumar - whose longevity, critics complain, is fuelled by an uncanny ability to stay in power by re-making alliances on the fly - is already the eighth longest-serving chief minister and, if he serves out this term, will be the longest-serving ever, eclipsing Sikkim leader Pawan Chamling's 24 years.
READ | As Nitish Kumar Eyes 10th Term, A Look At Longest-Serving Chief Ministers
Nineteen MLAs, starting with BJP leaders Samrat Choudhary, Vijay Sinha, and Dilip Jaiswal were also sworn in, and will form the nucleus of the new government, with the emphasis on experienced faces.
Choudhary and Sinha, for example, were Nitish Kumar's deputies in the previous administration and could reprise those roles for another five years, and Jaiswal was briefly the Revenue Minister.
BJP leaders Sanjay Kumar Singh, Pramod Kumar, and Lakhendra Raushan were also sworn in; Pramod Kumar previously served as Bihar's Law, Sugarcane, and Art and Culture Minister.
#WATCH | Lakhendra Kumar Raushan, Shreyashi Singh, Dr Pramod Kumar, Sanjay Kumar, Sanjay Kumar Singh, Deepak Prakash take oath as state ministers in Bihar cabinet at the oath ceremony being held at Patna's Gandhi Maidan.
— ANI (@ANI) November 20, 2025
(Source: DD News) pic.twitter.com/Y9YG0dmrNX
The BJP also put up Rama Nishad, Narayan Prasad, Surendra Mehata, Arun Shankar Prasad, and Sanjay 'Tiger' Singh, and the party also named competitive shooter and two-time MLA Shreyasi Singh; the 34-year-old Commonwealth Games gold medallist held her Jamui seat for a promotion.
Senior leader Ram Kripal Yadav, earlier with the Rashtriya Janata Dal and the JDU, and also served as a union minister and Lok Sabha MP, was also sworn in, as was ex-Roadways Minister Nitin Nabin.
#WATCH | Md Zama Khan, Sanjay Singh Tiger, Arun Shankar Prasad, Surendra Mehata, Narayan Prasad, Rama Nishad take oath as state ministers in Bihar cabinet at the oath ceremony being held at Patna's Gandhi Maidan.
— ANI (@ANI) November 20, 2025
(Source: DD News) pic.twitter.com/4MQoCoW0Nw
With 14 faces, the BJP, which narrowly retained its 'big brother' tag over the JDU after winning 89 seats, will take the lion's share of berths at this time. The Janata Dal will have six faces.
The JDU's list was led by Bijendra Prasad Yadav, Shrawon Kumar, Vijay Kumar Chaudhary, and Ashok Choudhary. Yadav was the Energy Minister and Kumar the Minister for Rural Development, while Chaudhary led the Water Resources ministry and Choudhary the Rural Works Development.
#WATCH | Leshi Singh, Madan Sahni, Nitin Nabin, Ram Kripal Yadav, Santosh Kumar Suman, Sunil Kumar take oath as state ministers in Bihar cabinet at the oath ceremony being held at Patna's Gandhi Maidan.
— ANI (@ANI) November 20, 2025
(Source: DD News) pic.twitter.com/EF7Fr4jJQJ
Also, Mohd Zama Khan, the former Minorities Welfare Minister, was re-inducted.
Five-term JDU MLA Leshi Singh, the ex-Consumer Protection Minister; ex-Social Welfare Minister Madan Sahni; and Sunil Kumar, the two-time lawmaker from the Bhore seat, also made the cut.
Three smaller allies - Chirag Paswan's Lok Janshakti Party, the Hindustan Awam Morcha of ex-Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi, and the Upendra Kushwaha-led Rashtriya Lok Manch - got a berth each.
From the RLM and HAM, party bosses' sons - Deepak Prakash and Santosh Manjhi - were administered oaths. Both are members of the Legislative Council. Prakash will be a first-time minister, while Manjhi served briefly as the Minister for Information Technology and Disaster Management.
With information from agencies
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