New Bihar government to take oath on Thursday
What's the story
The new government in Bihar will be sworn in on November 20 at Patna's historic Gandhi Maidan. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to attend the ceremony. In the recent Bihar Assembly polls, the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) won 202 out of 243 seats, far above the 122 seats needed to form a government. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) alone won 89 seats, while Janata Dal (United) secured 85 seats.
Cabinet dissolution
Nitish Kumar to chair last Cabinet meeting
Nitish Kumar will chair his last Cabinet meeting at 11:30am on Monday. A decision to dissolve the outgoing 17th Assembly is expected to be formally made at the Cabinet meeting, and Kumar will then resign to Governor Phagu Chauhan. Ahead of the meeting, JDU leader Neeraj Kumar emphasized the political significance of Kumar, stating he remains a key figure in Indian politics. "No one can ignore Nitish Kumar in Indian politics, whether they love him or hate him," he said.
Cabinet representation
JD(U) seeks greater representation in new cabinet
The Janata Dal (United) is looking for more representation in the new cabinet, a party leader speaking on the condition of anonymity told India Today. "We want more berths in the cabinet because our tally has risen sharply since 2020, when we had fewer than 50 MLAs," the JDU leader added. However, accommodating demands from alliance partners like LJP(RV) and RLM may be difficult as they are new entrants, he admitted
Government formation
LJP(RV) seeks to join new government
The LJP(RV), led by Chirag Paswan, is keen on joining the new government. However, Paswan did not confirm if his party was eyeing the deputy chief minister's post. Paswan's party won 19 of the 28 seats it contested in Bihar. The Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) and Rashtriya Lok Morcha (RLM) also held meetings with BJP leaders over government formation and party representation in the cabinet.
Opposition turmoil
RJD faces internal conflict after election defeat
Meanwhile, the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) is facing an internal conflict after its election defeat. Lalu Yadav's daughter Rohini Acharya announced her retirement from politics, alleging humiliation within the party. She blamed her brother Tejashwi Yadav and his aides for her humiliation. Tejashwi will review why the RJD performed poorly in the Assembly polls at a legislature party meeting on November 20 in Patna. The RJD, which won the most seats in 2020, won just 25 seats.