Nitish Kumar takes oath as Bihar CM for 9th time, JDU rejoins BJP-led NDA

Nitish Kumar took oath as the Bihar Chief Minister for a record ninth time on Sunday (28 January 2024) after his party, the Janata Dal United, broke away from the Mahagathbandhan and joined hands with the Bharatiya Janata Party led National Democratic Alliance once again. Calling on Bihar Governor Rajendra Arlekar at Raj Bhavan earlier on Sunday, Nitish resigned saying, “We have decided to sever ties with the Mahagathbandhan in the state”.

The BJP, with the largest contingent of 17 MPs in Bihar out of a total of 40 Lok Sabha members, is a significant player. The JD(U), led by Nitish Kumar, has 16 MPs, and another NDA ally, LJP, now split between Pashupati Kumar Paras and Chirag Paswan, has six MPs.

In the Bihar Assembly comprising 243 seats, the RJD holds 79 MLAs, followed by the BJP with 78, the JD(U) with 45, the Congress with 19, the CPI (M-L) with 12, and two each for the CPI(M) and CPI. The Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) has four seats, and the AIMIM has one, along with one Independent legislator.