Bihar political key points: Nitish Kumar takes oath as Bihar CM for 8th time in 22 years

NEW DELHI: After moving out of NDA, a day later on Wednesday Nitish Kumar took oath as Bihar's chief minister again, the eighth time since he was first sworn-in as the CM of the state in 2000.
Here are the key developments-
Nitish Kumar takes oath as Bihar CM for 8th time in 22 years
He took oath as the Chief Minister for the first time on March 3, 2000 despite falling short of a majority, and remained the CM for seven days. Since neither the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) nor the National Democratic Alliance could cross the halfway-mark in the Assembly, Nitish resigned on March 10, 2000 even before the vote of confidence could take place in the Assembly.

In 2005 Nitish Kumar took oath as the Bihar CM for the second time after his party won 88 seats and its ally, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) which won 55 seats. The government sailed through the majority mark of 122 in a curtailed 243-member House due to the formation of Jharkhand. He successfully completed his five-year term.
In 2010, he was again sworn-in as the CM, but in 2013 he dumped the BJP and after the poll loss he resigned and appointed Jitan Ram Manjhi as the CM. However, he returned as the CM in 2015 and said it was a mistake to resign. In 2015 he allied with the RJD and swept the polls, but in 2017 he parted ways with the RJD and teamed up with the BJP and continued till the Assembly election in 2020. He was sworn-in as the CM for the seventh time.
And, now on Wednesday afternoon he will be taking oath for the eighth time.

Stung by Nitish's “betrayal”, BJP stages protest in Bihar
Stripped of power in Bihar, the BJP on Wednesday staged a massive demonstration condemning the “betrayal” of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, whose similar volte face five years ago had helped it join the government through the proverbial “back door”.
The `Maha Dharna' (massive demonstration) staged in front of the party office at Birchand Patel Marg was attended by all BJP MPs and MLAs from Bihar who vowed to “expose” the 71 years old JD(U) leader through agitations scheduled at district and block levels later this week.
“There is no other reason for the turnaround except his Prime Ministerial ambitions which make him envious of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He should first try to win a state election on his own, without using an alliance as a crutch”, said Union minister Giriraj Singh, the Chief Minister's best known detractor in the state.

BJP's Ravi Shankar charges Nitish of siding with "corruption, Congressism"; RJD says "ghar wapasi"
As Nitish Kumar dumped his ally BJP to form a new government with Mahagathbandhan including RJD in Bihar, former Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad on Wednesday questioned the change of stance by the JD(U) leader while also accusing him of siding with "corruption and Congressism".
Prasad also asked if Kumar's politics which is around "non-Congressism", has finished, adding that it was the BJP that made him a big leader.
The remarks of the BJP leader came hours before the swearing-in ceremony of Nitish Kumar as the Bihar Chief Minister for the 8th time.
Anil Vij likens Nitish Kumar to "migratory bird"
Haryana Home Minister Anil Vij on Tuesday took a jibe at Nitish Kumar who parted ways with the BJP in Bihar yesterday to join hands with the Opposition parties to form government, and likened him to "migratory bird" stating that it is his "nature" to "jump from one branch to another".
The remark of the BJP leader came a day after Nitish Kumar snapped ties with the BJP in Bihar alleging that the party "tried weakening the JD(U)". Kumar, who had pulled out of the Grand Alliance in 2017 to reunite with its former ally BJP in 2017, once again joined hands with the Mahagathbandhan including RJD and other parties.
Haryana Minister said that it a matter of a few days.
Congress likely to get 4 ministerial berths in new government in Bihar, say sources
The Congress is likely to get four ministerial berths in the new government in Bihar as JD(U) leader Nitish Kumar snapped ties with the BJP and joined hands with the RJD and its allies, sources have indicated.
Kumar will be administered the oath of office Wednesday.
They said Kumar spoke to both Congress president Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi soon after resigning as chief minister. He is also learnt to have thanked the Congress leadership for extending support to the new government.
Besides the four ministerial berths, the Congress has also sought the post of Speaker of the state assembly, but Kumar is not keen on awarding that, the sources said.
Lalu Prasad's both sons set to return as Bihar ministers
With a Mahagatbandhan government under Nitish Kumar on the cards for the second time, speculation over the contours of the new dispensation has started doing the rounds.
According to sources, the new JD-U-led government is likely to have the same shape as the previous one. Tejashwi Yadav is tipped to be Deputy Chief Minister again, and might get a key portfolio such as Road Construction.
The RJD is also said to be angling to get the Home portfolio, while it is expected that the Speaker's post may go to it. Meanwhile, it is likely the party's Abdul Bari Siddiqui will get Finance while Sunil Kumar Singh could be the Cooperatives Minister.