After securing a dominant mandate in the recently concluded Bihar assembly elections, Nitish Kumar was sworn in once again as the chief minister on Thursday (November 20), marking his tenth term in office. The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) returned to power with a sweeping victory, winning 202 of the 243 seats in the assembly.

With this oath-taking, Nitish further extends his tenure as one of India’s longest-serving chief ministers, having first assumed the role in 2005 and continuing almost uninterrupted except for a brief gap between 2014 and 2015.

The swearing-in ceremony, held at Patna’s Gandhi Maidan, saw the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union home minister Amit Shah, BJP president J.P. Nadda, and leaders from other NDA partners.

Alongside Nitish, BJP’s Samrat Chaudhary and Vijay Sinha were administered the oath as deputy chief ministers for the second time. The pair had been elected leader and deputy leader of the BJP legislature party a day earlier.

Following the ceremony, Modi posted on X, congratulating Nitish “as an experienced administrator with a proven track record of good governance for many years.” He also congratulated Chaudhary and Sinha, noting, “Both leaders have worked extensively at the grassroots in serving people. Best wishes to them.”

In the final tally, the BJP emerged as the single-largest party with 89 seats, followed by the JD(U) with 85. Among the NDA’s other allies, Chirag Paswan’s Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) secured 19 seats, Jitan Ram Manjhi’s Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) won 5, and Upendra Kushwaha’s Rashtriya Lok Morcha (RLM) bagged 4.

Altogether, 26 ministers joined the new cabinet—14 from the BJP, eight from the JD(U), two from the LJP(RV), and one each from HAM(S) and the RLM.