TIA special correspondent
PATNA: A confidant Nitish Kumar began his second inning as chief minister of Bihar. He took oath of office at the historic Gandhi maidan here. He was administered oath of office and secrecy today by state governor Devanand Konwar. Nitish has formed a 29 member NDA government with Sushil Kumar Modi of the BJP as deputy chief minister.
11 new faces have been included in Nitish Kumar cabinet. Three women ministers are Renu Kumari, PraveenAmanullah and Sukhada Pandeya. Praveen Amanullah won assembly elections for the first time and she got berth in the cabinet.
State Advocate General P.K. Sahi resigned from his post and took oath as a minister. State JD (U) President Vijay Kumar Chaudhary has also been included in Nitish Cabinet. 11 fro BJP and 18 from JD(U) have been inducted in council of ministers.
Besides Kumar and Modi, 18 MLAs from the JD(U) and 10 from alliance partner BJP were also sworn in as ministers by the Bihar Governor Debanand Konwar at Patna’s historic Gandhi Maidan.
The alliance between Nitish’s JD(U) and the BJP won a massive victory earlier this week to return to power.
BJP leaders Nitin Gadkari, Sushma Swaraj, and actor-politician Shatrughan Sinha were among those who attended the ceremony, media report today said.
On Thursday Nitish Kumar was invited to form the government by Governor Devanand Konwar and will be sworn-in as the state’s 34th Chief Minister today.
"The governor has invited me to form the government tomorrow at 2.30 pm at the Gandhi maidan," Kumar told reporters after his 50-minute meeting with Konwar on Thursday. He was accompanied by JD(U) national president Sharad Yadav and senior BJP leader Arun Jaitley.
Earlier on Thursday, the JD (U) and BJP held separate meetings with the newly-elected legislatiors, at which Mr. Kumar and Mr. Modi were unanimously elected leaders of the State JD (U) and BJP legislature parties.
The NDA alliance bagged 206 of the 243 constituencies, with the JD (U) securing 115 and the BJP, 91. In stark contrast, the Opposition has been reduced to a non-entity,, with Rashtriya Janata Dal-Lok Jan Shakti Party combine barely securing 25 seats and the Congress, just 4 seats.
Underlining the limitations of accommodation in the ministry, Kumar said, "We will ensure honour and respect for all. Don’t say that you have won. The unprecedented mandate was the victory of the people, and not of any party. Just start work."
He also advised that there should be no arrogance over the victory of the NDA or belittling of the Opposition.