Nitish Kumar takes oath as chief minister of Indian state of Bihar for 10th time
- Last updated: November 20, 2025 | 22:15 ..
Nitish Kumar was sworn in as the Chief Minister of Bihar on Thursday, with Governor Arif Mohammad Khan administering the oath of office and secrecy at Patna’s historic Gandhi Maidan.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who arrived at Patna Airport around 11:00 am, flew directly to the venue by helicopter.
Nitish Kumar took oath as chief minister for the 10th time at 11.30am.
Several leaders of the National Democratic Allainace (NDA), including Chief Ministers and Deputy Chief Ministers from the NDA-ruled state, have arrived in Patna’s Gandhi Maidan for the oath ceremony.
He first became Chief Minister in 2000, though his government lasted only seven days. Since returning to power in 2005, he has been sworn in nine consecutive times, reaching a historic tenth oath today.
Nitish Kumar took oath as Chief Minister for the 10th time, and a total of 26 ministers were inducted into the new cabinet from various NDA constituents — 14 from the BJP, eight from the JD(U), two from the LJP(RV), and one each from the RLM and HAM.
In the previous cabinet, senior BJP leaders Mangal Pandey and Nitish Mishra represented the Brahmin community. However, this time the BJP has reduced the Brahmin quota, retaining only Mangal Pandey. No Brahmin MLA from the JD(U) has been given a ministerial berth, marking a notable shift in the caste arithmetic.
This is also the first time Prime Minister Narendra Modi has attended Nitish Kumar’s swearing-in ceremony, although Nitish has taken the oath five times since Narendra Modi became Prime Minister in 2014.
He has served under both the NDA and the Grand Alliance during this period. Today marks the first occasion when Modi was present in Patna for his oath-taking.
Samrat Choudhary was sworn in immediately after Nitish Kumar. A victorious MLA from Tarapur, he has now taken charge as one of the Deputy Chief Ministers of Bihar.
Vijay Sinha was sworn in next and has also assumed office as Deputy Chief Minister.
Several ministers were also administered the oath alongside Nitish Kumar, including Vijay Kumar Choudhary, Mangal Pandey, Dilip Jaiswal, Shravan Kumar, and Bijendra Yadav.
The Prime Minister congratulated all newly sworn-in ministers after the ceremony.
Modi on Thursday congratulated Nitish for taking oath as the Bihar Chief Minister, calling him an “experienced administrator” and praising his track record of “good governance” in the state.
Taking to X, Modi posted, “Congratulations to Shri Nitish Kumar Ji on taking oath as Bihar’s Chief Minister. He is an experienced administrator with a proven track record of good governance for many years. My best wishes to him for his tenure ahead.”
Vice President C.P. Radhakrishnan on Thursday congratulated Nitish Kumar on taking oath as the Bihar Chief Minister and other Ministers who were sworn in, wishing them success in fulfilling the aspirations for the state.
Tejashwi Yadav congratulated Nitish Kumar after he took oath as the Chief Minister of Bihar for the 10th time on Thursday.
In a post shared on X, Tejashwi Yadav wrote, “Hearty congratulations to Nitish Kumar on being sworn in as the Chief Minister of Bihar. Heartiest congratulations to all the ministers of the Bihar government who have been sworn in as members of the Council of Ministers.”
“It is hoped that the new government will responsibly fulfil its promises and announcements, living up to the hopes and expectations of the people, and bringing positive and qualitative change to the lives of the people of Bihar,” Yadav further said.
Caste balance has once again emerged as a decisive factor in the formation of the new Bihar government, sworn in on Thursday in the historic Gandhi Maidan.
Four ministers — Sanjay Tiger, Shreyasi Singh, Leshi Singh, and Sanjay Singh — have been included from this caste group.
Two prominent leaders — Vijay Kumar Sinha and Vijay Chaudhary — have been inducted from the Bhumihar community, which continues to wield considerable political influence in Bihar.
Indo-Asian News Service