Prasad’s second son Tej Pratap Yadav and close confidant Abdul Bari Siddiqui followed next in the swearing-in ceremony attended by a wide spectrum of leaders from political parties opposed to the BJP.
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JD-U said there would be many new faces among 12 ministers from the party.
Speculation is rife that first time MLA Tejaswi, who was the second person to be sworn in after Nitish at the event held at Gandhi Maidan, will be made Deputy Chief Minister.
In 2014, when Mr Yadav’s party won just four Lok Sabha seats in Bihar and Mr Kumar’s two, he reached out to Mr Yadav again, laying the foundation for a winning alliance.
He has deputed Parliamentary Affairs Minister Venkaiah Naidu to represent the Union Government at the ceremony.
“Our chief minister is there to fight against intolerance and mark her protest against the authoritarian attitude of the Centre”.
In the main dais, Nitish Kumar, his new sets of ministers and VVIPs would sit. His efforts paid off and the JD(U)-BJP combine formed government in the Sate after the 2005 Assembly polls, with Mr. Kumar as Chief Minister.
Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Lalu Prasad’s sons Tejaswi Yadav and Tej Pratap Yadav then took oath as ministers.
Although it is still early days yet, Nitish Kumar’s projection as a future prime ministerial candidate is not being viewed enthusiastically by the Congress which would like to see its vice-president Rahul Gandhi in that role.
Interestingly, many leaders will rub shoulders with their known rivals in their respective states this time.
Those present included Chief Ministers Mamata Banerjee (West Bengal), Arvind Kejriwal (Delhi), Virbhadra Singh (Himachal Pradesh), S. Siddaramaiah (Karnataka), Oommen Chandy (Kerala), Tarun Gogoi (Assam), P.K. Chamling (Sikkim), O. Ibobi Singh (Manipur) and Nabam Tuki (Arunachal Pradesh).
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A few allies of BJP Akali Dal Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal (Akali Dal)and Ram Das Kadam and Subhash Desai (Shiv Sena) were also present. He has also been given the additional responsibility of three ministries.
