Nitish takes oath as Bihar CM with 2 deputies from BJP
Nitish Kumar takes oath as Bihar’s 4th CM at a ceremony atended by Amit Shah and JP Nadda; RJD boycots ceremony and says people’s verdict has been changed by rulers’ order
For the fourth consecutive term, JD(U) leader Nitish Kumar took oath as Bihar chief minister at a ceremony atended by top BJP leaders including union home minister Amit Shah and party president JP Nadda.
The swearing-in ceremony comes a day ater the Nation Democratic Alliance (NDA) in Bihar chose Kumar as the Chief Minister for another term.
Deputy chief ministers — Tarkishore Prasad and Renu Devi were also sworn on Monday, apart from other ministers from NDA constituents — BJP, JD(U), HAM and VIP Sushil Kumar Modi who has been Bihar’s for the maximum time since 2005 has not found any place in the new cabinet.
According to reports, he might get a central berth.
Shreyasi Singh, a national-level shooting champion, who has won from Jamui seat, and the youngest daughter of late JD (U) leader Digvijay Singh, is one of the probable names being considered for a ministerial berth. Singh is likely to be accommodated by the BJP.
JD(U) MLAS Ashok Choudhary, Bijendra Prasad Yadav, Vijay Kumar Chaudhary and Shravan Kumar may also be inducted in the cabinet.
The Speaker post might go to the BJP as Vijay Kumar Chaudhary, who has been the Speaker for the past five years, may get a ministerial post today.
Others expected to be sworn in are Mukesh Sahni, the founding chief of Vikassheel Insaan Party, which has won four seats though Sahni himself lost, and Santosh Suman, whose father Jitan Ram Manjhi is a former chief minister and the president of Hindustani Awam Morcha.
RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav did not atend the oath-taking ceremony as his party said the election has been rigged. The mandate was “against the NDA,” but has later been changed by a “fraud.”
“The RJD boycots oath-taking ceremony of this puppet government. The mandate is for a change, and against the (ruling) NDA. The peoples verdict has been changed by the rulers order,” the RJD alleged in a tweet.
Bihar state assembly election was the first major election to be held amid Covid-19 pandemic.
Bearing the brunt of Covid, the swearing-in ceremony has become small-scale this year.
During his previous terms, Kumar had taken oath amid large gatherings of dignitaries and common people at Gandhi Maidan.
According to pre-election seat-sharing agreement, the JD (U), which has 43 MLAS, will get a maximum of 14 ministerial berths.
BJP which has won 74 seats will get 20 posts in the cabinet. Both HAM (S) and VIP will have to setle for one ministerial berth each.
The BJP may bag the key post of Speaker in the new 243-member Bihar legislative assembly because of the NDA’S wafer-thin majority.
It will also give the BJP a ruse to protect the smaller parties such as the HAM (S) and the VIP, which are likely to be vulnerable due to alleged horse-trading by the main opposition, the Grand Alliance, or the Mahagathbandhan (MGB), comprising the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), the Congress and the Let parties.
Former minister Nand Kishore Yadav and ex-deputy Speaker Amarendra Pratap Singh are the probable names doing the rounds for the Speaker’s post. “BJP national president JP Nadda, Shah and the party’s national general secretary (organisation) BL Santhosh will atend the oath-taking ceremony on Monday,” said Sanjay Mayunkh, the party’s national spokesperson.
BJP’S Tarkishore Prasad is seen as the frontrunner in the race to become deputy to CM Kumar, as his predecessor Sushil Kumar Modi was pencilled in for a bigger role in the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led NDA at the Centre.
“I will be taking the oath on Monday. In all likelihood, I will be working as deputy CM in the new government,” Prasad told media persons on Monday morning.
Renu Kumari, a four-time MLA from Betiah in West Champaran district, may also be elevated as deputy CM and is likely to bag a key porfolio in the new Cabinet.
Prasad, a BJP MLA from Katihar in the Seemanchal region, became a front-runner in the deputy CM’S race on Sunday ater Modi was drated for a role in the Central government.