Nitish Kumar sworn in as Bihar’s Chief Minister for record 10th term

In a grand ceremony at Gandhi Maidan on Thursday, Bihar’s longest-serving Chief Minister Nitish Kumar was sworn in for a record 10th term. The event was attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, BJP national president Jagat Prakash Nadda, and Chief Ministers of several NDA-ruled states, along with senior leaders of the alliance.

Prime Minister Modi congratulated Kumar on X, describing him as “an experienced administrator with a proven track record of good governance for many years” and extended his best wishes for the new tenure. During the ceremony, Modi lifted his trademark 'gamchha' and twirled it above his head, thrilling the assembled crowd.

The oath-taking ceremony also saw 26 ministers being sworn in. From the BJP, 14 ministers took the oath, including Samrat Choudhary and Vijay Kumar Sinha, who had previously served as deputy Chief Ministers. Other BJP inductees included Mangal Pandey, Nitin Nabin, Surendra Prasad Mehta, Dilip Jaiswal, Narayan Prasad, Shreyasi Singh, Arun Shankar Prasad, Dr Pramod Kumar, Lakhendra Kumar Raushan, Sanjay Singh Tiger, Rama Nishad, and Ram Kripal Yadav.

From the JD(U) quota, all eight ministers were returning members from the previous government, including Zama Khan, Bijendra Yadav, Shrawon Kumar, Vijay Kumar Chaudhary, Leshi Singh, Madan Sahni, Sunil Kumar, and Ashok Choudhary.

The cabinet also included representatives from smaller NDA allies: LJPRV, HAM, and RLM. From HAM, Santosh Suman, son of party chief Jitan Ram Manjhi, was re-inducted. LJPRV ministers included Sanjay Kumar Paswan and Sanjay Kumar Singh, who defeated Tej Pratap Yadav in Mahua. RLM is represented in the cabinet by Deepak Prakash, son of the party’s founding president.

Bihar assembly election results had given the BJP a tally of 89 seats, making it the single largest party, while the JD(U) and allies completed the NDA’s 202-seat total in the 243-member assembly.

Nitish Kumar has had a remarkable political journey as Bihar’s Chief Minister, having previously held the office during multiple terms: a brief tenure from 2000 to 2005, followed by 2005–2010, 2010–2014, 2014–2015, 2015–2017, 2017–2020, 2020–2022, 2022–2023, and 2023–2025. With his swearing-in for a record 10th term in 2025, Kumar has become the longest-serving Chief Minister in Bihar’s history, further cementing his legacy as one of the state’s most influential and enduring political figures.