Record 10th Term: Nitish Kumar Sworn In as Bihar Chief Minister in Presence of PM Modi

Nitish Kumar took oath as Bihar Chief Minister for a record 10th time on Thursday, days after steering the NDA to a sweeping victory in the 2025 Assembly elections.

The 74-year-old JD(U) chief, whose political relevance had been questioned in the run-up to the polls, was sworn in at Patna’s historic Gandhi Maidan along with BJP leaders Samrat Choudhary and Vijay Kumar Sinha, who will serve as his two deputies.

In all, 24 ministers took oath in the presence of Governor Arif Mohammad Khan, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, and several senior BJP and NDA leaders.

NITISH CHOSEN AS LEADER OF JD(U) AND NDA

A day before the swearing-in, Nitish Kumar was unanimously elected as the leader of both the JD(U) Legislature Party and the NDA Legislature Party, solidifying his position as the alliance’s choice to head the new government.

Meanwhile, at the BJP state headquarters, Samrat Choudhary and Vijay Kumar Sinha were elected as the leader and deputy leader of the party’s Legislature Party. Their names were proposed by Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya, who attended the meeting as the BJP’s central observer.

NDA’S LANDSLIDE WIN

On Wednesday, Nitish Kumar resigned as Chief Minister and staked claim to form a new government after the NDA clinched 202 of Bihar’s 243 seats, its second time crossing the 200-seat mark since 2010.

The Mahagathbandhan slumped to 35 seats.

The NDA’s tally included:

BJP: 89

JD(U): 85

LJP (Ram Vilas): 19

HAMS: 5

Rashtriya Lok Morcha: 4

Among the opposition:

RJD: 25

Congress: 6

CPI(ML)(L): 2

IIP: 1

CPI(M): 1

AIMIM: 5

BSP: 1

The two-phase elections on November 6 and 11 saw a record 67.13% turnout, the highest since 1951. Women outvoted men, registering 71.6% turnout against 62.8% for male voters.

NITISH’S POLITICAL RUN CONTINUES

The 2025 mandate reinforces Nitish Kumar’s standing as one of Bihar’s most enduring political figures. Apart from a brief break in 2014–15, he has helmed the state since 2005, and now begins his 10th tenure with another strong mandate behind him.