Patna:
Nitish Kumar is back to where he was in July 2022: with the BJP. He is still the chief minister of Bihar, although he has two new deputies, both from the BJP, in place of his old friend Sushil Kumar Modi, who continued as Rajya Sabha MP after August 2022, when Nitish Kumar took over the government left. BJP and rejoined the Mahagathbandhan.
After taking oath as Bihar Chief Minister for the ninth time, Nitish Kumar told reporters, “We are sticking together now.”
“You all know how I came to this (Mahagathbandhan) alliance and also how I worked to bring so many parties together. But lately, things haven't been working well. Things were not going well with the people in my party either,” Nitish said. Kumar, 72, said.
BJP leaders Samrat Choudhary and president Vijay Kumar Sinha have been appointed deputy chief ministers.
“I was also with them (NDA) earlier. We have gone different ways, but now we are together and we will remain so. Today eight people were sworn in as ministers; the rest will be sworn in soon. Samrat Choudhary and Vijay Sinha have done that too. appointed as deputy chief ministers,” Nitish Kumar told reporters.
When asked about the outgoing Deputy Prime Minister and Lalu Yadav's son Tejashwi Yadav's comment that “JD(U) will be ready by 2024”, Nitish Kumar said his party will work for the development and progress of the state.
“…We will continue to do the same, nothing different. Tejashwi did nothing. Now I came back to where I was (NDA) and now there is no question of going anywhere else,” he added.
Congratulating Nitish Kumar and his two deputies, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the newly sworn-in National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government in Bihar will leave no stone unturned for the development of the state and fulfilling the aspirations of the people.
Not a single leader of Lalu Yadav's Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), the largest party in the Bihar Assembly, was present at the oath-taking ceremony.
Tejashwi Yadav had said that the JD(U) will be “destroyed” in the upcoming assembly elections. “The game is not over for us. The game has just begun,” said the young leader.
Nitish Kumar had indicated that he was not happy with the way things were going in the Mahagathbandhan in the state as well as the newly formed opposition bloc INDIA.