Patna: Nitish Kumar is expected to continue as Chief Minister of Bihar, with sources indicating that the new state government will be formed within the next three days after the cabinet-sharing formula was finalised at a meeting with Union Home Minister Amit Shah.

The swearing-in ceremony of the new NDA government is likely to take place on Wednesday or Thursday, depending on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s schedule, sources said.

The NDA won the Bihar Assembly elections with a sizeable mandate, with both the JDU and BJP significantly improving on their 2020 performance. The BJP emerged as the single largest party with 89 seats, followed by the JDU with 85. Smaller allies — including the LJP (Ram Vilas), HAM, and RLM — also performed strongly.

Government Formation Process Begins

Momentum towards government formation has gathered pace with the issuance of the notification constituting the 18th Bihar Assembly. The Election Commission will brief Governor Arif Mohammad Khan on the final results, following which the Model Code of Conduct will cease to apply.

Nitish Kumar has called a cabinet meeting for tomorrow, during which the outgoing 17th Assembly is expected to be dissolved. Once the resolution is passed, Kumar will tender his resignation to the Governor, clearing the way for the next phase of government formation.

Following this, NDA constituent parties will hold their legislature party meetings to elect the alliance’s leader, after which the coalition will formally stake its claim to form the government.

Oath-Taking Ceremony

The swearing-in ceremony, likely on 19 or 20 November, will be confirmed once the Prime Minister’s availability is finalised. Preparations are underway at Gandhi Maidan in Patna for what is expected to be one of the NDA’s largest displays of political unity, marking Nitish Kumar’s record tenth swearing-in as Chief Minister.

Prime Minister Modi, several Union Ministers, Chief Ministers and Deputy Chief Ministers of NDA-ruled states, and senior alliance leaders are expected to attend — signalling a strong show of strength ahead of the West Bengal Assembly elections.

Cabinet Composition

The cabinet-sharing formula was agreed during a meeting with Amit Shah in Delhi, sources said. Despite initial reservations within the BJP over endorsing Nitish Kumar as the alliance’s chief ministerial face, it was decided that he would continue in the top post.

Under the ‘one minister for every six MLAs’ formula, the BJP is expected to secure 15–16 ministerial berths, while the JDU may receive 14. The Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas), led by Union Minister Chirag Paswan, is likely to get three berths. Jitan Ram Manjhi’s Hindustani Awam Morcha and Upendra Kushwaha’s Rashtriya Lok Samta Party are expected to receive one berth each.