Patna: A new era for BJP started in Bihar on Wednesday when party leader Samrat Choudhary took oath as chief minister.
Two senior JD (U) leaders – Vijay Kumar Chaudhary and Bijendra Prasad Yadav – also took oath as ministers in the new cabinet. Both Choudhary and Yadav have been designated as deputy chief ministers.
Governor Lieutenant General (Retd) Syed Ata Hasnain administered the oath of office and secrecy to them in a simple swearing-in ceremony, held at Lok Bhavan. Samrat`s predecessor, Nitish Kumar, also graced the occasion. Besides him, BJP national president Nitin Nabin, union ministers J P Nadda, Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Jitan Ram Manjhi, Chirag Paswan, and RLM leader Upendra Kushwaha also participated in the swearing in ceremony. Nitish Kumar, who is now a Rajya Sabha MP, relinquished the chief minister’s post on Tuesday. Samrat was a deputy chief minister in the previous Nitish Kumar regime and held the crucial Home portfolio.
Choudhary, who joined the BJP in 2017, was named the legislative party leader on Tuesday in the presence of top functionaries like BJP chief Nitin Nabin and Union minister Chouhan, whom the parliamentary board had named as the “central observer” for the transition.
