New Bihar govt likely to be sworn in on Nov 20 at Gandhi Maidan

Patna: The swearing-in ceremony of the new Bihar government is likely to be held in Patna on November 20, official sources said on Monday. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and several senior leaders of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), including Union ministers, are expected to attend the event, they added.

Earlier in the day, Bihar BJP president Dilip Jaiswal told reporters that newly elected legislators will meet on Tuesday to elect their legislature party leader. “Most likely, the oath-taking ceremony of the new government will take place either on November 20 or November 21,” he said.

Preparations are currently underway at Patna’s Gandhi Maidan, which has been chosen as the venue for the swearing-in.

Meanwhile, the outgoing NDA government held its final cabinet meeting on Monday, during which Chief Minister Nitish Kumar was “authorised” to recommend the dissolution of the assembly, a state minister said. Kumar subsequently met Governor Arif Mohammad Khan to convey the cabinet’s decision. The cabinet has resolved to recommend the dissolution of the assembly on November 19.

In the recently concluded assembly elections, the NDA secured more than 200 seats in the 243-member House. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) emerged as the single largest party with 89 seats, followed by the Janata Dal (United), which won 85 seats.

With PTI inputs