Nitish Kumar jumps to NDA, takes oath as Bihar CM for record ninth time

Patna: Janata Dal-United (JD-U) leader Nitish Kumar on Sunday was sworn in as Chief Minister of Bihar for a record ninth time, hours after he dissolved his Cabinet by walking out of the 'Mahagathbandhan' to once again join hands with the BJP.

Bihar Governor Rajendra Arlekar administered the oath of office to Nitish Kumar during the swearing-in ceremony at the Raj Bhavan here.

Bihar unit BJP chief Samrat Chaudhary and Vijay Kumar Sinha took oath as Deputy Chief Ministers in the new government.

Soon after these three leaders took oath in Raj Bhavan, Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated them on 'X'.

"I want to congratulate Nitish Kumar for becoming the chief minister, and Samrat Chaudhary and Vijay Sinha for becoming deputy chief ministers of Bihar," PM Modi said.

Also Read: Nitish Kumar's twist in Bihar: Congress calls him 'chamaleon'

"The NDA government formed in Bihar will leave no stone unturned for the development of the state and to fulfil the aspirations of its people. I am confident that this team will work in a dedicated manner for my family members of Bihar," he added.

BJP national president J.P. Nadda was also present in the swearing-in ceremony.

Kumar had earlier in the day resigned as the chief minister, saying "things were not working well" for him in the 'Mahagathbandhan' and in the opposition bloc INDIA, and staked claim to form a new government with the BJP, which he had dumped less than 18 months ago.

The fresh development -- BJP-JD-U alliance -- came just ahead of the general elections, which, according to the political analysts, is expected to give the saffron party an edge in putting up a "strong performance" in the Lok Sabha seats in Bihar.

Bihar has a total of 40 Lok Sabha seats.

Also Read: Snollygoster: Tharoor’s word of the day dig at Nitish Kumar’s switch