Nitish Kumar takes oath as Bihar Chief Minister for record 9th time

Mangalore Today News Network

New Delhi, Jan 28, 2024: Nitish Kumar takes oath as the Chief Minister of Bihar for a record ninth time on Sunday, marking his return to the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Kumar, who resigned as the chief minister of the Grand Alliance government earlier in the day, took oath at a ceremony in Patna attended by BJP leaders and NDA allies.

Kumar’s return to the NDA comes after an 18-month break, during which he led a government with the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and Congress. However, tensions within the Grand Alliance, particularly over corruption charges against RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav, led to Kumar’s decision to break ties with the RJD and Congress.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Samrat Choudhary on Sunday took oath as a minister in newly formed government in Bihar. Fifty-four-year-old Samrat Choudhary took over as the state BJP chief on March 27, 2023. He joined the BJP six years ago and has also been the BJP leader of Opposition in the Bihar Legislative Council.

Earlier, Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar on Sunday morning submitted his resignation to governor Rajendra V Arlekar. The JD(U) president said that the state of affairs within the ruling alliance in Bihar wasn’t good. "I have resigned as CM as things were not working out well. Will leave the earlier alliance and form a new alliance now," Nitish said after resigning as Bihar CM.