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    COVER STORY                                                       NOVEMBER 28, 2025        |  The Indian Eye                    6

                                                           NITISH KUMAR 10.0

            A Historic Oath, a Heavy Mandate

            and a New Political Map for Bihar

                With his 10th swearing-in as Chief Minister, Nitish Kumar enters the rarest league of Indian

             political leadership — but his new term begins amid soaring expectations, renewed scrutiny, and

                                          a reshaped NDA determined to deliver a “new Bihar”.

            OUR BUREAU                                                                                            ing Samrat Choudhary, Nitin Nabin,
                                                                                                                  Shreyasi Singh and Santosh Suman.
            Patna / New Delhi
                                                                                                                  It noted that nearly 80 percent of
                 atna’s historic Gandhi Maidan,                                                                   HAM(S)’s winning MLAs were rel-
                 a site etched into India’s polit-                                                                atives of senior leaders, and simi-
            Pical memory since Jayaprakash                                                                        lar patterns existed within BJP and
            Narayan’s 1974 “total revolution”                                                                     JD(U).
            call, offered a striking backdrop as                                                                      For Nitish Kumar, the moment
            Nitish Kumar took oath for a record                                                                   was not only political but also per-
            10th time on Thursday. The ceremo-                                                                    sonal. His son Nishant Kumar, usu-
            ny, attended by Prime Minister Na-                                                                    ally away from the public eye, pub-
            rendra Modi and a galaxy of NDA                                                                       licly congratulated him and thanked
            leaders, marked not just a personal                                                                   voters for their “more than expect-
            milestone for the 74-year-old Janata                                                                  ed” support. Calling it a moment of
            Dal (United) chief but also the begin-                                                                pride, he reiterated that the NDA
            ning of an ambitious new chapter for                                                                  would continue its development-fo-
            Bihar’s ruling coalition.                                                                             cused agenda.
                Nitish’s return to the helm — yet                                                                     Development is, in fact, the
            again — comes with both symbol-                                                                       heart of the new government’s prom-
            ism and strategy. Already the lon-                                                                    ise. Leaders like Dilip Jaiswal and
            gest-serving chief minister of Bihar,                                                                 Shreyasi Singh stressed that the over-
            he is now on course to surpass Jyoti   Prime Minister Narendra Modi, with newly sworn-in Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, at the   whelming mandate reflected people’s
            Basu’s 23-year tenure in West Bengal   swearing-in ceremony of the NDA government, in Patna on Thursday. (ANI Photo)  confidence  in  Nitish’s  governance
            if the newly re-assembled NDA stays                                                                   model — credited with improving
            cohesive for the next five years. His                                                                 roads, law-and-order and social wel-
            political longevity places him along-  ner of “Viksit Bihar”.       eastward.                         fare over the past two decades. The
            side India’s most enduring state lead-  Voices across the alliance sig-  The ceremony itself brought   NDA now promises a fresh push in
            ers:  Sikkim’s  Pawan  Kumar  Cham-  nalled unity and purpose. Chirag Pas-  together a powerful lineup of NDA   industrialization, job creation, edu-
            ling and Odisha’s Naveen Patnaik.  wan, now a key NDA partner, pro-  chief ministers — from Yogi Aditya-  cation reform, women’s empower-
                For a leader whose first term in   claimed that the government would   nath and N. Chandrababu Naidu to   ment and digital public services.
            2000 lasted just seven days, Nitish’s   prioritize  “Bihar  first  and  Biharis   Himanta Biswa Sarma, Neiphiu Rio   Yet challenges remain. Bihar’s
            political journey mirrors the churn of   first”, a theme echoed by nearly ev-  and Pushkar Singh Dhami — under-  economy,  still  among  India’s  weak-
            Bihar itself: unstable coalitions, rapid   ery minister sworn in. JD(U)’s Leshi   scoring the significance New Delhi at-  est, suffers from low industrial out-
            reversals, surprising alliances and cy-  Singh, reinstated with Nitish’s trust,   taches to the Bihar mandate. Modi, in   put, youth unemployment and per-
            cles of consolidation. After resigning   pledged to work with “full strength”   his congratulatory message, praised   sistent migration. Nitish’s ability to
            in 2014 over his party’s electoral set-  for development. BJP’s Ram Kri-  Nitish as a “skilled and experienced   navigate coalition dynamics, main-
            back and returning months later, he   pal Yadav and Nitin Nabin insisted   administrator” with a “splendid track   tain stability and deliver visible prog-
            has repeatedly proven his ability to   their focus would be on “good gover-  record”, calling his leadership inte-  ress will shape both his legacy and
            read the state’s political pulse — and   nance” and Modi-led growth.  gral to Bihar’s next growth phase.  the state’s future.
            recalibrate when needed.              Senior BJP leader Giriraj Singh,   Inside the state, however, the   At Gandhi Maidan, as the crowd
                This year’s sweeping NDA man-  in typically sharp style, turned his   political scene  is  far  from  free  of   dispersed and ministers stepped into
            date, hailed by its leaders as “histor-  remarks toward the next electoral   friction. The Rashtriya Janata Dal   their new roles, one message stood
            ic”, gives Nitish a broader platform   battleground. “Bihar ki jeet humari   (RJD),  now  in  opposition,  fired  an   out: Bihar’s political center of gravity
            than at any time in the past decade.   hai, agli baari Bengal ki,” he de-  immediate salvo — accusing the   remains firmly with Nitish — but the
            The coalition — anchored by JD(U),   clared, warning that the BJP would   NDA of the very “dynastic politics”   expectations riding on him have never
            BJP, LJP (Ram Vilas), HAM(S) and   not allow West Bengal to “become   it criticized during the campaign. In   been higher. The 2025 mandate gives
            others — now shares both responsi-  Bangladesh”, signalling the party’s   a pointed post, RJD listed 10 min-  him an opportunity to script one of the
            bility and opportunity under the ban-  intention to carry Bihar’s momentum   isters from political families, includ-  state’s most consequential chapters.

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