Patna: Senior JD(U) leader Nitish Kumar was today sworn in as Bihar Chief Minister for 5th time. He was administered oath of office and secrecy by Governor Ram Nath Kovind in the presence of a galaxy of prominent political leaders and a cheering crowd of over one lakh supporters.
Tejaswi Prasad Yadav, younger son of Lau Prasad, has been made the Deputy Chief Minister. He has been allocated PWD ministry.
Along with Nitish, 28 other leaders from JD(U), RJD and Congress also took oath as ministers in the new cabinet.
Lalu Prasad's two sons- Tej Pratap and Tejaswi- were among prominent RJD leaders who joined Nitish Kumar's cabinet.
Nitish Kumar, 64, dressed in his usual white kurta pyjama, took the oath of office and secrecy in the name of God at the sprawling Gandhi Maidan in the heart of Patna in a first major show of strength by anti-BJP parties since Narendra Modi became the prime minister last year.
It is the fifth time Nitish Kumar was sworn in as the chief minister -- and the first time Bihar will have a coalition government of the Janata Dal-United (JD-U), the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and the Congress.
Lalu Prasad, whose RJD is the single largest party in the 243-member house, appeared pleased when his sons, Tejaswi Yadav and Tej Pratap Yadav, took oath as ministers immediately after Nitish Kumar.
Tej Pratap Yadav was interrupted twice by Governor Ram Nath Kovind after he made a slip in his oath. Tejaswi Yadav, the younger son, has been made deputy chief minister.
Besides Nitish Kumar, 12 legislators each of the RJD and JD-U and four from the Congress were sworn in as ministers. Lalu Prasad's sons earned the maximum applause after the chief minister from the boisterous crowd.
A virtual Who's Who of political parties ranged against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) were present in strength at the Gandhi Maidan, with congress vice president Rahul Gandhi making it to the venue only 30 minutes after it began.
Those present included Chief Ministers Mamata Banerjee (West Bengal) and Arvind Kejriwal (Delhi), Virbhadra Singh (Himachal Pradesh), S. Siddaramaiah (Karnataka), Tarun Gagoi (Assam), P.K. Chamling (Sikkim), O. Ibobi Singh (Manipur) and Nabam Tuki (Arunachal Pradesh).
The other political veterans who attended the event were CPI-M's Sitaram Yechury, CPI's D. Raja, former prime minister H.D. Deve Gowda, NCP chief Sharad Pawar, National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah, Congress leaders Mallikarjun Kharge and Ghulam Nabi Azad, DMK's M.K. Stalin and former Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit.
Representing Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the dais was central minister M. Venkaiah Naidu. Lalu Prasad and JD-U president Sharad Yadav were the chief guests at the function.
Besides the JD-U, the RJD and Congress which fought the Bihar election together, the other parties at the venue were the Trinamool Congress, Aam Aadmi Party, CPI-M, Janata Dal-Secular, Nationalist Congress Party, DMK, National Conference, CPI and Sikkim Democratic Front.
Angry over his non-inclusion in the council of ministers, JD-U leader and former minister Shayam Razak did not attend the function.
The Grand Alliance won 178 of the 243 seats in the Bihar assembly. The BJP, which had hoped to oust Nitish Kumar, bagged 53 seats while its three allies together got five seats.
The Bihar battle was the biggest popularity test after the Delhi assembly election of February which the BJP lost badly to the AAP.
Major Highlights:
* Oath taking ceremony ends with the National Anthem.
* Bihar Congress president Ashok Choudhary takes oath.
* Vijay Prakash takes oath
* Anita Devi takes oath
* JD(U) leader Kapildev Kamat takes oath
* Madan Sahni takes oath
* Rahul Gandhi arrives at Gandhi Maidan
* Muneshwar Chaudhary takes oath
* Khurshid Urf Firoz Ahmad takes oath
* RJD leader Chandrashekhar takes oath
* RJD leader Dr Abdul Gafoor takes oath
* Santosh Kumar Nirala takes oath
* Kumari Manju Verma takes oath
* JD(U) leader Shailesh Kumar takes oath
* Madan Mohan Jha takes oath
* Shiv Chandra Ram takes oath of office as minister in Bihar cabinet
* RJD MLA from Sahebganj, Ramvichar Rai, takes oath
* Congress MLA Abdul Jalil takes oath
* JD(U) MLA from Kalyanpur, Maheshwar Hazari, takes oath
* JD(U) MLA Krishna Nandan Verma from Ghosi takes oath
* Wazirganj MLA Awadhesh Kumar Singh (Congress) takes oath
* RJD MLA from Parsa, Chandrika Rai, takes oath
* RJD MLA from Ujiyarpur, Alok Mehta, takes oath
* Jay Kumar Singh, JD(U) MLA from Dinara in Rohtas, takes oath
* JD(U) leader Shravan Kumar takes oath
* Rajiv Ranjan Singh alias Lalan Singh of JD(U) takes oath
* Bijendra Prasad Yadav of JD(U) takes oath
* Abdul Bari Siddiqui of RJD takes oath of office and secrecy
* Lalu's elder son Tej Pratap takes oath
* Lalu's younger son, Tejaswi Yadav, takes oath
* Nitish Kumar takes oath as the Chief Minister of Bihar at Gandhi Maidan in Patna
* Bihar Governor Ram Nath Kovind arrives at Gandhi Maidan
* Jitan Ram Manjhi arrives at Gandhi Maidan
* Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal with Lalu Prasad Yadav at Nitish Kumar's swearing in ceremony in Patna
* Farooq Abdullah & Omar Abdullah arrive at Gandhi Maidan in Patna
* Former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda arrives at Gandhi Maidan
* Janata Dal (United) president Sharad Yadav arrives at dais
* Senior BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi & Himachal Pradesh CM Virbhadra Singh at Nitish Kumar's oath taking ceremony
* Mamata Banerjee arrives at Gandhi Maidan
* Senior BJP leader and Union Minister Venkaiah Naidu arrives at Gandhi Maidan
* Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge arrives at venue
* Election strategist Prashant Kishor at Nitish Kumar's oath taking ceremony
* Former Delhi CM Sheila Dikshit arrives for Nitish Kumar's oath taking ceremony
* Nitish Kumar and Lalu Yadav oblige photographers who ask for a 'together shot'
* Nitish Kumar reaches venue where swearing in ceremony is to take place shortly
* Nitish Kumar should prepare for Delhi, he can become the next Prime Minister: Farooq Abdullah
* Lalu Yadav, Rabri Davi arrive at Gandhi Maidan
* Lalu Prasad Yadav's family arrives for Nitish Kumar's swearing-in ceremony at Gandhi Maidan in Patna
* UP CM Akhilesh Yadav to skip Nitish Kumar's swearing-in ceremony
This is the fifth time that Nitish took oath as Bihar CM. Nitish's first stint was in 2000 when he headed a government for only 8 days.
He stormed back to power in November 2005 and again in 2010. In February 2015, he took oath for the high office for the fourth time after Jitan Ram Manjhi was removed from the chair.
The Grand Alliance of Nitish Kumar and including the RJD and Congress swept 178 of the 243 assembly seats, leaving 53 to the BJP and five to its three allies in an election outcome that Lalu Prasad said would have major political repercussion.
The RJD is the single largest party in the house with 80 seats followed by the JD-U (71) and the Congress (27 seats).
