Bihar Election Results: 20 ministers to take oath with Nitish Kumar on this date

The swearing-in ceremony for the new Bihar government is expected to take place in Patna on either 20 or 21 November.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and several other top leaders of the NDA, including union ministers, are expected to take part in the oath-taking event, news agency PTI said, quoting sources.

Nitish Kumar is expected to submit his resignation to the Governor as head of the outgoing government on 19 November. Kumar will resign as the incumbent chief minister on the same day. He will take oath as chief minister of Bihar for the record tenth time, the next day or a day later, according to reports by news agencies.

‘20 Ministers to take oath with Kumar’

As many as 20 ministers are likely to take oath with the CM, around 6-7 ministers each from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the JD(U), according to a report in The Indian Express. There will also be two ministers from the LJP (RV) and one each from the Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) and the Rashtriya Lok Morcha (RLM) who will take oath along with Kumar on Thursday, according to reports.

The maximum number of cabinet berths is constitutionally capped at 15% of an assembly’s strength. Bihar, which has 243 assembly seats, can have up to 36 ministers, including the chief minister. Other ministers beyond 20 may take the oath at a later time.

The JD (U) and the BJP are scheduled to hold their separate meetings today. The NDA allies will meet on Wednesday to choose their leader.

Kumar met with Governor Arif Mohammed Khan on Monday and recommended that the current state Assembly be dissolved, effective 19 November.

Earlier in the day, Bihar BJP president Dilip Jaiswal told reporters that the newly elected legislators will meet on Tuesday to elect their legislative party leader.

“Most likely, the oath-taking ceremony of the new government will take place either on 20 November or 21 November,” he said.

Preparations are underway at Patna’s Gandhi Maidan for the swearing-in event.

The last cabinet meeting of the outgoing NDA government in Bihar on Monday “authorised” Chief Minister Nitish Kumar to recommend dissolution of the assembly, a state minister said.

“The cabinet passed another resolution, thanking the CM for the landslide victory of the NDA in Bihar. This is the best ever performance by the alliance in Bihar under the leadership of Nitish Kumar... It was made possible because of the visionary policies of the state government,” Vijay Choudhary said.

In the recent assembly polls, the NDA bagged more than 200 seats in the 243-member House, with the BJP winning the maximum number of 89 seats, followed by the JD(U)’s tally of 85.

(With agency inputs)