Nitish Kumar sworn in as Bihar CM

Janata Dal-United’s Nitish Kumar, whose Grand Alliance with former rival Lalu Prasad saw them storming to power in Bihar, was sworn in as Chief Minister for a record fifth time in a mega ceremony at Patna’s sprawling Gandhi Maidan on Friday.

Overseen by Governor Ram Nath Kovind, Nitish took the oath of office and secrecy in the name of God in Hindi. Lalu’s sons, Tejashwi Yadav and Tej Pratap Yadav, also took their oath as ministers, the former likely to be made Bihar’s deputy chief minister.

As he witnessed the rise of his two sons in Bihar politics, a beaming Lalu Prasad Yadav sat with his wife and former chief minister Rabri Devi, and daughter Misa Bharti.

In a major show of strength by anti-BJP parties, the event was attended by a galaxy of opposition leaders from across the country, including former prime minister HD Deve Gowda and a number of chief ministers. Among those who showed up were Arvind Kejriwal, Mamata Banerjee, Tarun Gogoi, Virbhadra Singh, as well as several party chiefs and senior leaders.

“Such a thing has never happened. It is the beginning of opposition unity in the country,” JD-U state president Vashisht Narain Singh said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who had led the Bihar campaign from the front, was represented on the dais by Union minister M Venkaiah Naidu. Nitish had broken his 17-year-old alliance with the BJP in 2013 after Modi was declared his party’s prime ministerial candidate in the run-up to the national elections.

An unprecedented security cover was put in place with a staggering 2 lakh people converging at the Gandhi Maidan to welcome their new government. 20 watch towers were set up and 40 CCTV cameras installed in and around the venue in central Patna.