Nitish Kumar takes oath as Bihar CM for 8th time, Tejashwi Yadav his deputy

JD(U) leader Nitish Kumar on Wednesday took oath as the Bihar chief minister for the eighth time after he announced a new "grand alliance" with RJD's Tejashwi Yadav and other opposition parties. Tejashwi was also administered the oath of office as deputy CM in a ceremony at Raj Bhawan.

Minutes after taking oath as the Bihar CM, Kumar said the new govt will run just fine. Speaking about PM Narendra Modi, the JD(U) leader added, "He won in 2014, but should now worry about 2024."

Kumar also called up RJD supremo Lalu Prasad before taking oath as the chief minister of Bihar. Prasad welcomed Kumar's decision and conveyed his wishes to him, the RJD chief's daughter and MP Misa Bharti said.

Kumar had yesterday pulled the plug on JD(U)'s alliance with the BJP and resigned, and followed it up by staking claim to form a new government with support of the opposition Grand Alliance. 

Nitish addressed reporters right outside the Governor's house and announced that "all his MPs and MLAs reached a consensus" to leave NDA. Ensuing the announcement, he reached Rabri Devi's residence and was caught on camera with Tejashwi, hinting at an alliance with his party. After many discussions and alliance parleys, the duo announced that they have sealed the deal.

On new Bihar cabinet

Kumar is likely to retain the all-important Home portfolio, while the RJD may get most of the departments that were previously with ally BJP.

An in-principle agreement has reportedly been reached about the composition of the new cabinet, which is likely to have “35 members or more”, drawn from Kumar’s JD(U), the RJD and the Congress.

According to broader contours of the power sharing formula, the RJD will have the largest number of ministers, in recognition of the fact that it has a higher number of MLAs.

“The JD(U) is likely to have 13 ministers, the RJD has settled for 16. The Congress will be given four berths, while former chief minister Jitan Ram Manjhi’s HAM will have one member in the cabinet,” a source told PTI.

Meanwhile, stripped of power in Bihar, the BJP today staged a massive demonstration condemning the “betrayal” of Nitish Kumar, whose similar volte face five years ago had helped it join the government through the proverbial “back door”. 

The 'Maha Dharna' (massive demonstration) staged in front of the party office at Birchand Patel Marg was attended by all BJP MPs and MLAs from Bihar who vowed to “expose” the 71 years old JD(U) leader through agitations scheduled at district and block levels later this week.