Nitish sworn in as Bihar CM for record 10th time

BJPALLOTTED 14 MINISTRIES, JD(U) 8 IN 26-MEMBER CABINET

- PRESS TRUST OF INDIA

BIHAR'S LONGEST-SERVING CHIEF Minister Nitish Kumar was on Thursday sworn in for a record 10th term here at a grand ceremony, attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, CMs of several NDA-ruled states, and senior alliance leaders.

Kumar was administered the oath of office by Governor Arif Mohammed Khan at the Gandhi Maidan, where a massive makeshift stage was erected for the ceremony, also attended by Union Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP national president Jagat Prakash Nadda, both of whom had arrived in Patna on Wednesday night.

Along with 74-year-old Kumar, 26 ministers took the oath of office: 14 from the Bharatiya Janata Party, eight from Janata Dal (United), two from Lok Jan Shakti Party (Ram Vilas), and one each from Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) and Rashtriya Lok Morcha (RLM).

The ministers included Samrat Choudhary and Vijay Kumar Sinha, both deputy CMs in the previous government, who have been elected as the BJP’s leader and deputy leader, respectively, following the polls that were swept by the NDA, which got 202 seats in the 243-member assembly.