18th Bihar Assembly begins with swearing-in of newly elected members

The 18th Bihar Legislative Assembly convened on Monday with the primary agenda of administering the oath of office to newly elected MLAs, formally marking the commencement of the new House following the recent Assembly polls.

The swearing-in was overseen by pro tem Speaker Narendra Narayan Yadav, who informed members that they could take the oath in Hindi, English, Urdu, Sanskrit or Maithili. The proceedings began with the cabinet ministers, as per convention.

Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary, elected from Tarapur, was the first to take the oath, setting the tone for the day’s proceedings. He was followed by Deputy Chief Minister Vijay Kumar Sinha, who has secured a fourth consecutive victory from Lakhisarai. After completing the formalities, both leaders greeted the pro tem Speaker and Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, who, being a member of the Legislative Council, does not take oath in the Assembly.

The next prominent leader to be sworn in was veteran BJP MLA Prem Kumar, widely seen as the leading contender for the post of Speaker. The election for the Speaker is scheduled to take place on Tuesday.

After Prem Kumar, RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav expected to continue as the Leader of the Opposition took his oath. His presence drew considerable attention as he prepared to helm the opposition bench in the newly constituted House.

The day witnessed linguistic diversity as several MLAs opted to take the oath in languages other than Hindi. Minister Anand Shankar Prasad and a few others took the oath in Maithili, while several MLAs from the Seemanchal region chose Urdu. A small number also preferred Sanskrit, and at least one member, Vishnu Deo Paswan of Darauli, took the oath in English.

The ongoing five-day session will feature key legislative business. On Wednesday, Governor Arif Mohammad Khan will deliver a joint address to both Houses, coinciding with the tabling of the second supplementary budget. The government will respond to the motion of thanks on Thursday, and the session will conclude on Friday with a debate on the supplementary budget followed by passage of the appropriation bill.

The ruling NDA, buoyed by its recent electoral sweep with 202 of 243 seats, marked the beginning of the session in a celebratory mood, with the Chief Minister and his cabinet colleagues posing for photographs after arriving at the Vidhan Sabha.