Nitish Kumar takes oath as Bihar CM for 9th time

Patna, Jan 28 (IANS): Janata Dal-United (JD-U) leader Nitish Kumar on Sunday was sworn-in as Chief Minister of Bihar for the ninth time -- hours after he dissolved his Cabinet by walking out of the 'Mahagathbandhan' to once again join hands with the BJP.

Bihar Governor Rajendra Arlekar administered the oath of office to Nitish Kumar during the swearing-in ceremony as the Raj Bhavan here.

Bihar unit BJP chief Samrat Chaudhary, and Vijay Kumar Sinha were named Deputy Chief Ministers.

Soon after these three leaders took oath in Raj Bhavan, Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated them on 'X'.

"I want to congratulate Nitish Kumar for becoming the chief minister, and Samrat Chaudhary and Vijay Sinha for becoming deputy chief ministers of Bihar," PM Modi said.

"The NDA government formed in Bihar will leave no stone unturned for the development of the state and to fulfill the aspirations of its people. I am confident that this team will work in a dedicated manner for my family members of Bihar," he added.

BJP national president J.P. Nadda was also present in the swearing-in ceremony.

The fresh development -- BJP-JD-U alliance -- came just ahead of the general elections, which, according to the political analysts, is expected to give the saffron party an edge in putting up a "strong peformance" in the Lok Sabha seats in Bihar.

Bihar has a total of 40 Lok Sabha seats.