Janata Dal (United) chief Nitish Kumar took oath as the chief minister of Bihar on Friday at the Gandhi Maidan in Patna, with many national leaders in attendance. Tejaswi Yadav, the 26-year-old son of Rashtriya Janata Dal head Lalu Prasad Yadav, will be the deputy chief minister. Lalu Yadav's other son Tej Pratap Yadav was also sworn into the new state cabinet. Both are first-time lawmakers.
The RJD is the single largest party in the new assembly with 80 seats. The JD(U), RJD and the Congress are part of the Mahagathbandhan, or Grand Alliance, that won the elections by a landslide on November 8. Twelve ministers each from the JD(U) and RJD, and four from the Congress were inducted into the cabinet.
The list of attendees at the swearing-in included Congress leaders Sonia and Rahul Gandhi, Nationalist Congress Party’s Sharad Pawar, West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee, and Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal. Several JD(U) and RJD leaders were also present at the ceremony.
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