Nitish Kumar Sworn In As Bihar CM, 8 Ministers Take Oath | Who Are They?

Within hours after he resigned from the top post in Bihar, Nitish Kumar took oath as the chief minister for a record ninth time with the support of Bharatiya Janata Party-led NDA.

Along with Kumar, 3 leaders each from the Janata Dal (United) and the BJP, Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) president Santosh Suman and Independent MLA Sumit Singh took oath as ministers.

Kumar had earlier in the day resigned as the chief minister, saying “things were not working well” for him in the ‘Mahagathbandhan’ and in the opposition bloc INDIA, and staked claim to form a new government with the BJP, which he had dumped less than 18 months ago.

20 Years With NDA, 4 Yrs With Mahagathbandhan: Nitish Back In BJP Fold, A Look At His Political U-turns

Who Are 8 Ministers In Nitish Govt?

Vijay Chaudhary (JDU)

One of the closest to Nitish Kumar, Chaudhary was the finance minister in the previous government. He has held different portfolios in Nitish Kumar’s cabinet.

Shrawan Kumar (JDU)

Shrawan Kumar, a Kurmi leader from JDU, was also a minister in previous governments.

Bijendra Yadav (JDU)

JDU leader Bijendra Yadav was a power minister in both previous governments.

Samrat Chaudhary (BJP)

Rakesh Kumar alias Samrat Choudhary is a veteran BJP leader, who was appointed as Bihar BJP chief last year. He is currently a BJP MLC and leader of the party in the Legislative Council. Choudhary is the new deputy chief minister of Bihar.

Choudhary joined the BJP in 2018. His father, Shakuni Chaudhary, a former army man-turned-politician and well-known socialist leader, was a minister and former MP.  Before joining the BJP, Choudhary was associated with RJD till 2014 and after that, he was with the JD(U).

Vijay Sinha (BJP)

He was the Leader of the Opposition in the Bihar Assembly when Mahagathbandhan was in government. Sinha is the new deputy chief minister of Bihar.

He is a member of the BJP and an MLA from the Lakhisarai constituency since 2010.

Sinha was also the Speaker of the Bihar Legislative Assembly from November 2020 to August 2022, after which, he resigned from his post following a no-confidence motion moved against him by the current ruling Mahagathbandhan.

Dr Prem Kumar (BJP)

Dr Prem Kumar, a big face of EBC from BJP, was also a minister in the previous NDA government.

Santosh Suman (HAM)

Santosh Suman is the son of former Bihar CM Jitan Ram Manjhi. He is also the president Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) party. He is from the Mahadalit community (SC).

Sumit Singh (Independent)

Sumit Singh, the only independent MLA in Bihar, is from the Rajput Community. He has been a minister in both previous governments too.