Nitish Kumar sworn in as Bihar CM, Tejashwi his deputy
Kumar resigned from the BJP on Tuesday before claiming the support of the ‘Mahagathbandhan’ to form a new government (Grand Alliance).
Nitish Kumar, the leader of the Janata Dal (United), was sworn in as Bihar’s Chief Minister for the eighth time on Wednesday. Governor Phagu Chauhan administered the oath of office to him during a simple ceremony inside the Raj Bhavan.
Tejashwi Yadav, whose RJD leads the Grand Alliance that elected Kumar as its leader on Tuesday, was also sworn in for the second time as Deputy Chief Minister.
The CPIML(L), CPI, and CPI(M) have all stated their intention to support the new government from the outside.
Kumar had quit the BJP on Tuesday, depriving the party of power, before resigning and claiming the support of the ‘Mahagathbandhan’ to form a new government (Grand Alliance).
The 71-year-old JD(U) leader took the oath of office as chief minister for the first time in 2000, when he led an NDA government that lasted only a week.
He was back in 2005, this time with an absolute majority in the assembly elections won by his coalition.
Five years later, the NDA won a landslide victory in the assembly elections under his leadership.
Kumar stepped down in 2014, owning moral responsibility for the drubbing of JD(U) in the Lok Sabha polls, but returned less than a year later when he was sworn in for the fourth time.
Kumar returned as CM in 2015, with the Grand Alliance of the JD(U), RJD, and Congress winning a comfortable majority.
In July 2017, he resigned, citing irreconcilable differences with the RJD, and was sworn in again less than 24 hours later, when he formed a new government with the BJP.