Nitish Kumar Takes Oath as Bihar Chief Minister for a Historic Tenth Term at Gandhi Maidan

Patna, Nov 2025 : Nitish Kumar was sworn in as the Chief Minister of Bihar on Thursday, marking a historic tenth time he has taken the state’s top office. The oath was administered by Governor Arif Mohammad Khan at Patna’s iconic Gandhi Maidan, where thousands gathered to witness the high-profile ceremony.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Patna around 11 a.m. and flew directly by helicopter to the swearing-in venue. Nitish Kumar took the oath of office at 11:30 a.m., stepping into the role for the tenth time in a political career that has spanned four decades.

Nitish Kumar first became Chief Minister in 2000, though that government survived only for seven days due to inadequate numbers. His long, uninterrupted run began in 2005, and since then, he has been sworn in nine consecutive times. Today’s oath-taking marks yet another milestone in his political legacy.

This ceremony was particularly significant as it marked the first time Prime Minister Narendra Modi personally attended a swearing-in of Nitish Kumar. Although Kumar has taken oath five times since Modi became Prime Minister in 2014, he has alternated between alliances—serving under both the NDA and the Grand Alliance. Today’s event was the first occasion when PM Modi was present for his oath-taking in Patna.

Soon after Nitish, Samrat Choudhary was sworn in as Deputy Chief Minister. A victorious MLA from Tarapur, Choudhary now assumes one of the state’s top administrative positions. Vijay Sinha was sworn in next and has also taken charge as Deputy Chief Minister.

Several ministers also took oath alongside Nitish Kumar, including senior leaders Vijay Kumar Choudhary, Mangal Pandey, Dilip Jaiswal, Shravan Kumar, and Bijendra Yadav. Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated all newly inducted ministers after the ceremony, signaling strong support from the Centre for the new NDA government.

The swearing-in followed a flurry of political developments on Wednesday. Around 5 p.m., Nitish Kumar visited Raj Bhavan to formally stake his claim to form the new government. He submitted letters of support from 202 NDA MLAs and simultaneously tendered his resignation as the outgoing Chief Minister.

Following this, Governor Arif Mohammad Khan dissolved the 17th Bihar Legislative Assembly and invited Nitish Kumar to form the new government.

Earlier in the day, Nitish Kumar was unanimously elected leader of the JD(U) legislative party. The BJP, meanwhile, chose Samrat Choudhary as its legislative party leader and Vijay Sinha as deputy leader—both of whom were sworn in today as Deputy Chief Ministers.

With Thursday’s ceremony, the new NDA government in Bihar has formally taken shape under Nitish Kumar’s leadership.