Venkaiah to represent PM at Nitish oath, 9 CMs to be present

On being asked about the invitation, Bihar BJP Vice President Sanjay Mayukh told PTI that PM due to his “prior fixed programmes” might not be able to attend the ceremony.

Dissident BJP leaders Shatrughan and Yashwant too get invites All eyes are set on Bihar on November 20 and it’s not just another swearing-in ceremony of Nitish Kumar as Bihar’s chief minister for the third time.

PATNA- Bihar Chief Minister and JD(U) leader Nitish Kumar with RJD Chief Lalu Yadav addressing a joint press conference to announce Maha Gathbandhan on August 12, 2015 in Patna. Nitish had also submitted his resignation to Governor Ramnath Kovind after the cabinet made a decision to recommend the dissolution of the outgoing assembly. Roy, who is Minister for Parlaimentary Affairs and Food in the Raghubar Das government, was also invited by Kumar for the swearing-in.

The official guest list has names of nine Chief Ministers, including West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, her Delhi counterpart Arvind Kejriwal and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav.

“All the credit goes to Modiji for the number seats won by BJP in Bihar and there should not be any doubt about it”, Mr. Sinha said while taking a jibe at the PM.

Kumar and RJD chief Lalu Prasad wish to make the oath ceremony a big event by bringing together leaders of different parties which are opposed to BJP.

According to Janata Dal-United leaders, Nitish Kumar will take oath as chief minister along with a 36-member council of ministers.

With the opposition ranks looking stronger now and the “intolerance” debate expected to take centre-stage during the session, PM Narendra Modi needs to change track and show greater political will in pushing reform Bills like the Goods and Service Tax (GST) and others instead of leaving it completely on Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.

The RJD emerged as the single largest party in the 243-seat house with 80 assembly seats followed by the JD-U (71) and the Congress (27 seats). Burying the hatchet, ex-members of the Grand Alliance – Samajwadi Party’s Mulayam Singh Yadav and Nationalist Congress Party’s Sharad Pawar – too have been invited for the event.

On the possibility of Mr. Prasad’s daughter Misa or either of his sons assuming the post of Deputy Chief Minister in the new Nitish Kumar government, Mr. Sinha said, “I don’t think it will happen”.