Patna: Nitish Kumar was sworn in as Chief Minister of Bihar for a record 10th term on Thursday, marking yet another milestone in his decades-long political career. The oath ceremony, held at Patna’s historic Gandhi Maidan, came a day after he was unanimously chosen as the leader of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) legislature party and formally staked claim to form the new government.
Alongside Kumar, 26 newly elected MLAs were inducted into the NDA cabinet. BJP leaders Samrat Choudhary and Vijay Kumar Sinha took oath as Deputy Chief Ministers, reaffirming the BJP–JD(U) partnership at the core of the new government.
The grand swearing-in event saw the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union ministers Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh and Dharmendra Pradhan, BJP national president JP Nadda, and chief ministers of several NDA-ruled states. Gandhi Maidan—also the site of Kumar’s previous oath ceremonies in 2005, 2010 and 2015, and known for Jayaprakash Narayan’s historic call for “total revolution” in 1974—was packed for the occasion.
Kumar’s selection as NDA legislature party leader followed back-to-back meetings on Wednesday, during which he was first elected JD(U) legislature party chief before securing unanimous support from alliance partners.
Soon after the ceremony, Prime Minister Modi congratulated the new ministers, expressing confidence in the coalition’s ability to deliver. “My best wishes to all those who have taken oath as Ministers in the Bihar Government. This is a wonderful team, with dedicated leaders who will take Bihar to new heights,” the Prime Minister wrote on X.
