Lalu Yadav’s son Tej Pratap Yadav fumbles while taking oath

Nitish-headed Grand Alliance government has accommodated 28 ministers including 12 members from JD (U), 12 members from RJD and 4 members from Congress. Since RJD Chief and former CM Lalu Prasad’s youngest son Tejashwi Yadav was invited to take oath just after Nitish Kumar, he is considered to be Number 2 in the government. Stressing that development of Bihar was a “big challenge” before Nitish, Prem said the CM had got a “huge mandate” to fulfill developmental aspirations of the people.

It is the fifth time engineer-turned-politician Nitish Kumar was sworn-in as the chief minister.

Tejwasi Yadav, the 26-year-old Deputy Chief Minister, will be in charge of road construction and building construction departments.

Earlier, cheered by a few one lakh supporters and watched by leaders of a dozen parties, Nitish Kumar was sworn in by Governor Ram Nath Kovind at the sprawling Gandhi Maidan at the head of a 28-member ministry.

Lalu’s social support base would be happy with the move.

Lalu Prasad, whose RJD is the single largest party in the 243-member house, appeared pleased when his sons took oath immediately after Nitish Kumar. He fumbled twice while reading from the swearing-in text: He spelled apekshit (expected) as upekshit (discarded) and for the second time when he had to read a line ‘jab bhi tab ke siwa’.

Tejashwi has been a cricketer and is quite popular among the masses than Tej Pratap. In fact, road and health are the two most visible portfolios in the Nitish government that had become hallmark of his governance plank. He was in charge of the finance portfolio in the outgoing ministry. Nitish will retain home. During the blistering poll campaign, the PM’s comment had elicited immediate counter attack from Lalu’s daughter Misa Bharti whom RJD deserter and now Union minister Ramkripal Yadav had defeated in 2014 parliamentary election. Four Congressmen took oath as ministers, with Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi attending the ceremony.