JD(U) chief Nitish Kumar will be sworn in as the Chief Minister of Bihar for a record 10th time on Thursday at Patna’s iconic Gandhi Maidan.
Nineteen ministers are expected to take oath alongside him.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, BJP national president J.P. Nadda, and several senior NDA leaders will attend the ceremony, along with chief ministers from various NDA-ruled states.
Kumar resigned from the post on Wednesday before meeting Governor Arif Mohammed Khan to stake claim to form the new government.
As part of the power-sharing arrangement within the NDA, ministerial positions will be allotted proportionately to ensure balanced representation. Besides the BJP and JD(U), alliance partners are expected to receive one ministerial berth for every six MLAs. Rashtriya Lok Morcha (RLM) and Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) [HAM(S)] are likely to get one berth each, while Chirag Paswan’s Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) is expected to secure three positions. The remaining seats will be divided between the BJP and JD(U).
Sources said eight MLAs each from the BJP and JD(U) will take oath today, along with one MLA each from RLM, HAM(S), and the Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas).
A senior official stated that extensive security arrangements have been made, with an estimated crowd of over three lakh people expected at the venue.
The Cabinet is likely to be expanded further after Makar Sankranti on January 14 next year.
