Nitish Kumar takes oath as Bihar CM

Former Bihar CM and RJD leader Rabri Devi with her sons and MLAs Tej Pratap and Tejashwi Yadav. Bijendra Prasad Yadav of JD(U) follows him.

Tejwasi Yadav has been named deputy CM and will be in charge of road construction and building construction departments, the sources said.

A virtual Who’s Who of political parties ranged against the BJP were present in strength at the Gandhi Maidan, with Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi making it to the venue only 30 minutes after it began. Mr. Kumar asked him to step down and pave the way for his return as Chief Minister.

Indian Janta Dal United activists and supporters celebrate after a victory by an alliance, led by their party, in New Delhi on November 8, 2015, in the Bihar state assembly elections. “In all these ministries, Lalu will remain the super boss”, said a JD(U) leader.

A notable presence will be that of BJP ally Shiv Sena, which has accepted the invitation and made a decision to send two Maharashtra Ministers Ram Das Kadam and Subhash Desai to the function. Though he had taken oath as a minister, an executive order issued by the chief minister through the Governor’s secretariat later notified that he will be the official deputy to Nitish Kumar.

The four Ministers from Congress are: Ashok Choudhary, Awadhesh Kumar Singh, Abdul Jalil Mastan and Madan Mohan Jha.

A galaxy of top leaders of different parties arrived to greet Nitish and watch the swearing-in ceremony. Consequently, Nitish Kumar has to first focus on the job in hand and only after securing his position and stabilising his government should he look beyond Bihar. Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav and Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav, who were expected to be present, skipped the event.

BJP leader and Union Minister M. Venkaiyah Naidu and former Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi were the only two to represent the saffron party. Over time, he became an advocate of equitable development and good governance, which Bihar seemed to lack. “This is the first attempt to bring secular forces at one platform”, he commented. The DMK’s M K Stalin and T R Baalu also attended the event.

According to the sources many people will be coming in the oath ceremony of Bihar from the state as well as from neighbouring states also. The crowd left leaving behind thick clouds of dust in the sprawling ground.