Oath Ceremony for New Bihar Government on Thursday, PM Confirmed as Guest

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Days after its sweeping victory in the Bihar Assembly elections, the new NDA government will be sworn in on November 20 (Thursday) at Patna’s historic Gandhi Maidan. However, there is still no clarity on whether Nitish Kumar will take oath as Chief Minister for an unprecedented tenth term.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to attend the ceremony. During the election campaign, the Prime Minister had addressed over a dozen rallies and promised he would “return for the swearing-in of a new NDA government.”

Nitish Kumar, who has the backing of all NDA allies to continue as Chief Minister, will chair the final meeting of the outgoing Cabinet at 11:30 am. The Cabinet is set to be dissolved, following which he will submit his resignation to Governor Arif Mohammad Khan. A resolution will also be passed authorising him to meet the Governor with the proposal to dissolve the outgoing Assembly, a senior JD(U) leader said.

The transition comes after Chief Electoral Officer Vinod Singh Gunjiyal submitted the list of newly elected MLAs to the Governor on Sunday. The NDA recorded a resounding victory, winning 202 seats in the 243-member Assembly. The BJP led with 89 seats, followed by JD(U) with 85. Chirag Paswan’s LJP (RV) secured 19 seats, while allies HAM and RLM won a total of nine. The RJD-led Mahagathbandhan managed just 35 seats.

JD(U) working president Sanjay Kumar Jha, who held meetings in Delhi with senior BJP leaders regarding government formation, met Nitish Kumar on Sunday. “The new government will be formed in a few days. You will get to know the details soon. We are committed to fulfilling the promises made in the NDA manifesto,” he said.

JD(U) Pushes for More Cabinet Berths

A JD(U) leader said the party is seeking greater representation in the new cabinet, noting that its tally has risen sharply since the 2020 elections, when it had fewer than 50 MLAs. However, he admitted that accommodating the demands of all alliance partners may be difficult, especially with new entrants such as LJP (RV) and RLM.

Is LJP (RV) Seeking Deputy CM Post?

Chirag Paswan said his party is eager to join the new government but declined to comment on whether it is eyeing the post of Deputy Chief Minister. In the outgoing government, both deputy CM positions were held by BJP leaders Samrat Choudhary and Vijay Kumar Sinha.

Meanwhile, HAM, led by Minister Santosh Kumar Suman, held its legislative party meeting, electing Sikandra MLA Prafull Manjhi as leader. Suman stressed that the party stands firmly with Nitish Kumar and looks forward to serving Bihar again.

Allies Confer With BJP on Power Sharing

HAM chief Jitan Ram Manjhi and RLM president Upendra Kushwaha held separate meetings in Delhi with Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, the BJP’s election in-charge for Bihar. BJP leader Vinod Tawde was also present. Sources said the discussions focused on cabinet representation and the role of allies in the new government.

RJD Struggles With Internal Feud After Poll Rout

While the NDA finalises its government, the opposition RJD is dealing with deep internal strife. Lalu Prasad Yadav’s daughter Rohini Acharya announced her decision to quit politics, alleging she was abused and even accused of donating a “filthy kidney” to her father in exchange for money and a ticket. She claimed a slipper was raised at her parents’ home to hit her.

She blamed her younger brother Tejashwi Yadav and his close aides, including Sanjay Yadav and Rameez, for her humiliation. Rohini said she still has the support of her parents and sisters.

Tejashwi, who retained his Raghopur seat after a tight contest, will review the RJD’s steep decline—from 75 seats in 2020 to just 25 this time. The legislature party meeting will be held at his Polo Road residence in Patna at 2 pm, with participation from candidates who lost.