Nitish Kumar returns as Bihar CM while PM Modi marks his first presence at the ceremony
Nitish Kumar returns as Bihar CM while PM Modi marks his first presence at the ceremony
Nitish Kumar returns as Bihar CM while PM Modi marks his first presence at the ceremony
Nitish Kumar takes oath as Bihar Chief Minister for the 10th time, with PM Modi attending his swearing-in ceremony for the first time. Here’s a detailed look at the event and a human opinion on what it means for Bihar’s
Nitish Kumar took the oath as the Chief Minister of Bihar on Thursday. Governor Arif Mohammad Khan administered the oath of office and secrecy at Patna’s historic Gandhi Maidan. Prime Minister Narendra Modi landed at Patna Airport around 11 am and flew directly to the venue by helicopter. Nitish Kumar was sworn in as Chief Minister for the 10th time at 11.30 am.
He first became Chief Minister in 2000, but his government lasted only seven days. Since returning to power in 2005, he has been sworn in nine times consecutively, reaching a historic tenth oath today.
This is the first time Prime Minister Narendra Modi has attended Nitish Kumar’s swearing-in ceremony along with Union Minister Amit Shah. Kumar has taken the oath five times since Modi became Prime Minister in 2014. During this time, he has served under both the NDA and the Grand Alliance. Today is the first occasion on which PM Modi was present in Patna for his oath-taking.
Samrat Choudhary was sworn in right after Nitish Kumar. As a winning MLA from Tarapur, he has now taken on the role of one of the Deputy Chief Ministers of Bihar.
Next, Vijay Sinha was sworn in and has also taken office as Deputy Chief Minister. Several ministers took the oath alongside Nitish Kumar. These include Vijay Kumar Choudhary, Mangal Pandey, Dilip Jaiswal, Shravan Kumar, and Bijendra Yadav.
Officials had earlier estimated that over three lakh people would likely gather at Gandhi Maidan. This would make it one of the largest oath-taking ceremonies the state has seen. Considering the NDA’s strong support among women voters in this election, the administration also set up separate enclosures and security corridors for female attendees.
PM Modi's attendance at the ceremony for the first time definitely signals a closer Centre-State relationship, which could be good for development. Still, I feel Bihar now needs strong delivery on promises, not just strong ceremonies. The real test isn’t the oath, it’s what happens after it.
