"Back to where I was": Nitish Kumar's ninth term pledge for Bihar's development

In a historic ninth swearing-in ceremony, Nitish Kumar took the oath as Chief Minister once again at the Raj Bhavan on January 28. Amidst the grand ceremony, he declared, "Now I am back where I was before (in NDA), and now there is no question of going anywhere."

Addressing concerns raised by Tejashwi Yadav of the RJD, who predicted the demise of JD(U) in 2024, Nitish responded with confidence, stating, "We work for the development and progress of Bihar. We will keep doing the same, nothing else. Tejashwi was not doing anything."

The oath-taking ceremony saw the induction of BJP leaders Samrat Choudhary and Vijay Sinha as deputy chief ministers, signaling a united front in the coalition. Nitish assured, "We will stay together. Eight leaders took oath as ministers today, and the rest will be inducted soon."

Janata Dal (United) leaders Vijay Kumar Chaudhary, Bijendra Prasad Yadav, and Shrawon Kumar also took oath as cabinet ministers, alongside BJP's Dr Prem Kumar, HAM(S) president Dr Santosh Kumar Suman, and Independent MLA Sumit Kumar Singh.

Earlier in the day, Nitish Kumar resigned from the Chief Minister's post, submitting his resignation to Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar at the Raj Bhavan. In a press conference, he revealed his decision to step down and urged the Governor to dissolve the Mahagathbandhan alliance in Bihar.

Explaining his move, Nitish stated, "The situation in the Mahagathbandhan alliance was not alright. I have not been commenting on anything for long because things were not right. I was getting opinions and suggestions from everyone, including my party workers. I listened to all of them and resigned today, ending the current government."