Nitish Kumar takes oath as Bihar CM for 8th time, Tejashwi Yadav as Deputy CM
Nitish Kumar, who dumped the BJP-led NDA on Tuesday, took oath as the CM for the eighth time. Along with him, RJD's Tejashwi Yadav took oath as Deputy CM for the second time. JD(U) joined hands with the 'Mahagathbandhan' comprising 7 political parties and staked claim to form a government with the support of over 164 MLAs.
FollowNitish Kumar took the oath of office for a record eighth time as the chief minister of Bihar and RJD's Tejashwi Yadav was sworn-in as the Deputy Chief MInister of Bihar for the second time at the Raj Bhavan in Patna on Wednesday. It comes a day after high drama in politically vital Bihar saw him leave the BJP's coalition and join forces with the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD).
After the ceremony, Tejashwi Yadav's wife thanked everyone for the support and his mother Rabri Devi said, "It's good for people of Bihar, I thank them. All are happy." Additionally, Tej Pratap Yadav said they have come to power to work.
After taking oath as Bihar's Chief Minister, Nitish Kumar reacted to the BJP's claim that they 'they made him the CM of Bihar five times,' and said that he never wanted the CM's post. "I never wanted to become the CM, BJP insisted that's why I took over," he said. He further said, "The party made the decision together (to leave BJP)...whether I will stay or not (till 2024)...they can say what they want, but I will not live in the year 2014."
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Earlier during the day, Nitish Kumar called RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav and briefed him on all the political developments, where Lalu Prasad Yadav congratulated him and appreciated his decision. The Congress is anticipated to be represented in the incoming government in addition to JD(U) and RJD. Left-leaning parties CPIML(L), CPI, and CPI(M) have stated that they want to provide outside support for the new administration.
Kumar had on Tuesday quit the BJP, stripping the party of power, before resigning and staking claim to form a new government, armed with the support of the Mahagathbandhan' (Grand Alliance). The 71-year-old JD(U) leader initially took the oath of office as chief minister in 2000 while serving as the leader of a short-lived NDA administration. He returned in 2005, this time having secured an absolute majority for his alliance in the assembly elections.
Also read: Nitish Kumar resigns as Bihar CM, breaks alliance with BJP
