Patna: Creating a new history in Bihar politics, Nitish Kumar has been sworn in as the Chief Minister of the state for the seventh time in two decades. In a ceremony held at Raj Bhavan in the presence of top NDA leaders like Union Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP national president Jagat Prakash Nadda, Governor Fagu Chouhan administered the oath of office and secrecy to Kumar. Apart from Nitish, 14 others have been sworn in as ministers, including BJP Legislative Party leader Tarkishore Prasad and deputy leader Renu Devi, besides Vijay Kumar Chowdhury, Ashok Chowdhury, Mangal Pandey and others. This time there are seven ministers from BJP, five from JDU, one each from us and VIP.
Nitish set the record
Nitish Kumar is moving towards surpassing the record of Shrikrishna Singh, the longest serving Chief Minister of the state, who served in this post from before independence till his death in 1961. Kumar was first sworn in as the Chief Minister of the state in 2000 but his government lasted for a week as he could not muster a majority and he had to return as a minister in Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s government at the Center. Five years later, he returned to power with a resounding victory over the JDU-BJP alliance, and after the coalition’s landslide victory in 2010, the Chief Minister’s Sehra was once again tied to Nitish Kumar’s head. After this, taking moral responsibility for the defeat of JDU in the Lok Sabha elections in May 2014, he resigned from the post of Chief Minister, but due to the rebellious attitude of Jeetan Ram Manjhi, he had to assume command again in February 2015.
Along with 69-year-old Nitish Kumar, BJP Legislative Party leader Tarkishore Prasad has been sworn in as a minister. Prasad, a tall MLA from Katihar, belongs to the Kalwar caste which is part of the Vaishya community. It is a backward caste according to caste equations. Prasad, who defeated Rashtriya Janata Dal candidate Ram Prakash Mahto from Katihar by a margin of 10,500 votes, is considered close to Sushil Modi.
BJP deputy leader and MLA from Bettiah Renu Devi has also taken oath. She belongs to the Nonia caste which belongs to the most backward class. Renu Devi, who defeated Madan Mohan Tiwari of the Congress by 18000 votes, has won the Betia seat four times. After losing to Madan Mohan in 2015, Renu Devi regained the seat this time.
Vijay Chaudhary, who has been the state president of JDU, has won this time from Sarai Ranjan. In Nitish’s cabinet, he has been sworn in as a minister.
Bijendra Prasad Yadav was sworn in as a Minister. Considered close to Nitish Kumar. Live with Supaul. Earlier, Nitish had taken charge of the energy department in the cabinet.
Ashok Chaudhary was sworn in as a Minister. Is the executive chairman of the JDU. He has been in Congress before.
Mewalal Chowdhury, who won the Tarapur seat for the second time in a row, took the oath of office. He is considered a veteran leader.
JDU MLA Sheila Kumari, who won for the first time from Fulparas, took the oath of office. Sheila Kumari is considered the female face of the JDU.
Santosh Suman Manjhi, son of Jeetan Ram Manjhi, former CM of Bihar and head of Hindustani Awam Morcha, has been sworn in as a minister.
Mukesh Sahni of Vikasashil Insan Party (VIP) was sworn in as a minister. Very dramatically left the grand alliance and joined the NDA. The BJP had given seats to this party from its quota.
Amarendra Pratap Singh, who was elected MLA for the fourth time from Ara, took the oath of office. He is a resident of Buxar district. He is known as a social worker and a farmer.
Mangal Pandey was sworn in as a minister. He was also holding the post of Minister in the previous Nitish government. Mangal Pandey has also been the President of Bihar BJP.
Jivesh Kumar Mishra, MLA from Darbhanga, has been sworn in as a Minister. Jivesh has taken oath in Maithili language. He has become MLA for the second time in a row from Jale. He is a BJP MLA.
Rajnagar MLA Rampreet Paswan has been sworn in as a minister. They are identified as Dalit faces. He has taken oath in Maithili language.
Ramsurat Rai Yadav has been sworn in as a Minister. He is a MLA from Auraiya, Muzaffarpur.
It is noteworthy that in the recently concluded Bihar Assembly elections, the NDA alliance has won 125 seats. While the opposition grand alliance has got 110 seats. In the NDA, the BJP has won 74 seats, the JDU 43, we and the VIP four each. While the grand alliance has lagged behind the majority. However, RJD has become the largest party in this election by winning 75 seats. Let me tell you that in the assembly elections of 2015, JDU got 71 seats.
