Prime Minister Narendra Modi concluded his visit to Patna’s historic Gandhi Maidan on Thursday with his trademark ‘gamcha’ wave — a gesture that once again electrified the crowd moments after Nitish Kumar was sworn in as Bihar’s Chief Minister for a record 10th time. As Modi boarded his helicopter, supporters erupted in cheers, marking a memorable end to the swearing-in ceremony.
Nitish Kumar took oath at 11:30 am, with Governor Arif Mohammad Khan administering the oath of office and secrecy. Soon after the ceremony, PM Modi extended his wishes on X, writing:
“Congratulations to Shri Nitish Kumar Ji on taking oath as Bihar’s Chief Minister. He is an experienced administrator with a proven track record of good governance. My best wishes to him for the tenure ahead.”
The Prime Minister landed in Patna around 11 am and proceeded directly to the venue. Interestingly, this was Modi’s first attendance at a Nitish Kumar swearing-in, despite the JD(U) leader having taken oath multiple times since 2014. With today’s ceremony, Nitish Kumar marked an extraordinary tenth oath-taking, a rare achievement in Indian political history, having served under both the NDA and the Grand Alliance.
Following Nitish Kumar, former deputy CMs Samrat Choudhary and Vijay Sinha were sworn in, along with key ministers including Vijay Kumar Choudhary, Mangal Pandey, Dilip Jaiswal, Shravan Kumar, and Bijendra Yadav. Before leaving the venue, PM Modi congratulated all newly inducted cabinet members.
