BJP leaders Samrat Choudhary and former Speaker Vijay Kumar Sinha, named as Deputy Chief Ministers, were among the ministers sworn in. Six other ministers, Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) leader Santosh Kumar Suman, Independent Sumit Kumar Singh, BJP’s Prem Kumar, and JD(U)’s Vijay Kumar Choudhary, Bijendra Prasad Yadav and Shravan Kumar, also took oath.
BJP president J P Nadda was among those who attended the swearing-in ceremony, which saw supporters raising slogans of “Jai Shri Ram”. With Samrat Choudhary, a Kushwaha leader, and Vijay Kumar Sinha, a Bhumihar leader, the BJP has decided to go for an OBC-upper caste combination in its choice of Deputy Chief Ministers.
बिहार में बनी एनडीए सरकार राज्य के विकास और यहां के लोगों की आकांक्षाओं को पूरा करने के लिए कोई कोर-कसर नहीं छोड़ेगी। @NitishKumar जी को मुख्यमंत्री और सम्राट चौधरी जी एवं विजय सिन्हा जी को उप मुख्यमंत्री पद की शपथ लेने पर मेरी बहुत-बहुत बधाई।
मुझे विश्वास है कि यह टीम पूरे…
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) January 28, 2024
Congratulating Kumar, Prime Minister Narendra Modi posted on ‘X’: “NDA government formed in Bihar will not leave any stone unturned to fulfil people’s aspirations and work for the state’s development. I congratulate Samrat Choudhary and Vijay Kumar Sinha for becoming Deputy CMs. I believe this team will work with commitment to serve our people”.
Earlier in the day, after tendering his resignation, Kumar said: “I have resigned and put an end to (Mahagathbandhan) government…Things were not going well. Everyone was in favour of breaking this alliance…we had forged a new alliance (in August 2022) but it too was not working well. I had been working a lot for Bihar and also worked for the new alliance (INDIA bloc) but it too, had not been working out well.”
Though he did not name the INDIA bloc, several JD(U) leaders said the party would target the Congress for not “valuing” Kumar, and the INDIA bloc “not being a serious initiative”.
Meanwhile, RJD leader and former Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Prasad Yadav, said the game was not over yet (“khela abhi baaki hai”). “I have always respected Nitish Kumar and will continue to do so. As for taking credit, why should I not do it? After all, the RJD had 79 MLAs as compared to the JD(U)’s 45,” he said.
“The person (Nitish Kumar) who used to say giving jobs on a big scale was not possible, was made to announce, on August 15, 2022, that job letters would be distributed, at my initiative. This was not done before. Health, education, tourism and IT departments were under the RJD. We brought new IT and tourism policies… We will go to the people. The JD(U) will be finished as a party in 2024 itself,” he said.
Since 2013, this is the fifth time that Kumar has changed sides. After his breakup with the BJP in 2013, Kumar got outside support from parties like the Congress and CPI, besides a disgruntled faction of the RJD.
A year later, though, he stepped down, taking moral responsibility for the JD(U)’s drubbing in the Lok Sabha elections.
In less than a year, he was back as Chief Minister, elbowing out his rebellious protege Jitan Ram Manjhi, this time with ample support from the RJD and Congress. The Grand Alliance that came into being with the JD(U), Congress and RJD coming together, won the 2015 Assembly polls, but came apart in just two years.
Kumar returned to the NDA in 2017, hoping to get some traction after taking a stand against the corruption taint on his then deputy Tejashwi Yadav.
In August 2022, he again snapped ties with the BJP, accusing it of trying to “split” the JD(U), and joined the Mahagathbandhan. He formed a new government with a multi-party coalition that included the RJD and Congress.
In the current 243-member Bihar Assembly, JD(U) has 45 MLAs and the BJP 78. Kumar also has the support of one Independent member. Jitan Ram Manjhi-led Hindustani Awam Morcha, which is already a part of the NDA, has four MLAs.
The RJD (79) along with the Congress (19) and the Left parties (16) have a combined 114 MLAs, eight short of a majority.