In the presence of the Union Minister of the Interior, Amit Shah, and the head of the BJP, JP Nadda, the head of JD (U), Nitish Kumar, was sworn in on Monday as Prime Minister of Bihar for the fourth consecutive term. In addition to Kumar, several leaders of the constituent parties of the NDA alliance were sworn in as cabinet ministers. Deputy CMs, Tarkishore Prasad and Renu Devi, were also sworn in at the ceremony. Amit Shah’s presence was significant as, unlike Kumar’s past swearing-in ceremonies, this was a small-scale gathering due to Covid-19 restrictions.
Santosh Kumar Suman, son of Hindustani boss Awam Morcha (HAM) Jitan Ram Manjhi, Mukesh Sahni of Vikassheel Insaan Party (VIP), Vijay Kumar Choudhary of JD (U), Vijendra Prasad Yadav, Ashok Choudhary and Mewa Lal Chouduramento also took the oath in.
The swearing in of Vijay Kumar Choudhary as cabinet minister indicates that the spokesperson position will go to the BJP as Choudhary was president in the last term.
Also read: Nitish Kumar forms a government in Bihar and installs a new cabinet. Full list of ministers here
Nitish Kumar’s new cabinet
Sushil Kumar Modi, who has been from Bihar for the longest time since 2005, has found no place in the new cabinet. He could reportedly get a position at Central. The ministers who were sworn in on Monday form the interim cabinet. More ministers will be installed later.
RJD boycotted Nitish’s swearing-in
RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav did not attend the swearing-in ceremony because his party said the elections had been rigged. The mandate was “against the NDA”, but has later been changed for a “fraud”. “The RJD boycotts the swearing-in ceremony of this puppet government. The mandate is for change and against the NDA (ruling). The verdict of the people has been changed by order of the rulers ”, alleged the RJD in a tweet.
Inauguration ceremonies in 2010, 2015
The Bihar state assembly elections were the first major elections to be held amid the Covid-19 pandemic. With the worst of Covid, the swearing-in ceremony has gone small this year. During his previous tenures, Kumar had taken the oath amid large gatherings of dignitaries and ordinary people at Gandhi Maidan.
According to the pre-electoral seat distribution agreement, the JD (U), which has 43 MLA, will obtain a maximum of 14 ministerial positions. BJP, which has won 74 seats, will get 20 cabinet seats. Both HAM (S) and VIP will have to settle for one ministerial position each.
Here are the latest updates from the 2020 Nitish Kumar swearing-in
> The leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Mangal Pandey and Amarendra Pratap Singh, are sworn in as cabinet ministers of Bihar.
> Santosh Kumar Suman, son of Hindustani chief Awam Morcha (HAM), Jitan Ram Manjhi, and Mukesh Sahni of the Vikassheel Insaan Party (VIP) are sworn in.
> JDU leaders Vijay Kumar Choudhary, Vijendra Prasad Yadav, Ashok Choudhary and Mewa Lal Choudhary are sworn in as cabinet ministers of Bihar.
> The leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Tarkishore Prasad and Renu Devi, are sworn in as Principal Deputy Ministers of Bihar.
> Nitish Kumar is sworn in as Chief Minister of Bihar for the seventh time, his fourth consecutive term.
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