First session of newly elected Bihar Legislative Assembly begins; MLAs highlight key issues

Patna (Bihar) [India], December 1 (ANI): The first session of the newly elected Bihar Legislative Assembly began on Monday, with Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, Deputy Chief Ministers Samrat Choudhary and Vijay Kumar Sinha, along with newly elected MLAs, arriving to participate in the important session.
Ahead of the session, the newly elected MLAs expressed their commitment to work for the welfare of the people of Bihar and the constituencies they were elected from.
JD(U) MLA-elect Vinay Kumar Chaudhary emphasised the party's commitment to public welfare in his remarks. "We work for the public and will continue to do so," he said, reflecting the party's focus on serving the people of Bihar.
Vishnu Deo Paswan, newly elected MLA from LJP-Ramvilas, shared his vision for Bihar's youth. "I want to work on creating employment opportunities so that the youth of Bihar do not have to migrate. Due to politics, Bihar did not see the development it deserved," he stated, emphasising the need for economic growth and job creation within the state.
Protem Speaker of the legislative assembly Narendra Narayan Yadav said that the session will start with the address given by him, followed by an oath-taking ceremony of newly elected legislators, starting with the ministers, then the LoP and then the newly elected MLAs.
Meanwhile, in a show of defiance against rumours of defections, BSP MLA Satish Kumar Singh Yadav firmly denied claims of being in contact with the BJP.
"I will work to ensure that development reaches all in my constituency, Ramgarh... All these are rumours. I will remain in BSP until my last breath," he asserted.
Bhai Virendra, an MLA elected from the RJD in the current assembly, spoke out against the NDA's victory in the state.
"Our morale is high, and the public has voted for us. They (NDA) made the government by vote chori, not by public mandate. We might be fewer in numbers, but our strength in raising concerns will not be diminished," he remarked, highlighting the opposition's resolve to voice the concerns of the public.
BJP's MLA-elect Maithili Thakur, who has become the youngest-ever legislator in the history of the Bihar Assembly, said that it was a "big day" and the beginning of a new life.
"It is a very big day for me, as I will become an MLA after taking the oath today. It is the beginning of a new life today," she stated.
Last month, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar allocated cabinet portfolios to the newly elected National Democratic Alliance (NDA) MLAs sworn in as ministers, giving up the Home department to the ally, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Samrat Choudhary, the Deputy Chief Minister and a BJP leader, has been given charge of the Home department. Kumar will not handle the Home department for the first time since he came to power in 2005.
Kumar has retained the General Administration Department (GAD), the Cabinet Secretariat, the Vigilance Department, the Election Department, and other departments not allocated to any minister.
Vijay Kumar Sinha, Deputy CM and BJP MLA, will oversee the Land and Revenue departments, along with Geology and Mines.
Mangal Pandey, BJP MLA from Siwan, has retained the Health department and has been allocated the Law department. Bihar BJP chief Dilip Jaiswal has been allocated the Industries department. BJP MLA Nitin Nabin has taken charge of the Roads and Urban departments.
Arun Shankar Prasad of the BJP will take charge of the Tourism department, along with the Art, Culture, and Youth department. Ramkripal Yadav of the BJP will oversee the Agriculture department.
BJP's Lakhendra Kumar Raushan and Sanjay Singh 'Tiger' will oversee the SC/ST welfare and Labour resources departments, respectively.
BJP MLA Narayan Prasad has been allocated the Disaster Management department, followed by BJP's Shreyasi Singh, who has been given Information and Public Relations, along with the Sports department.
The Animal and Fisheries Resources department has been allocated to BJP MLA Surendra Mehta, while BJP's Rama Nishad will oversee the Backward and Extremely Backward Classes welfare department.
BJP's Pramod Kumar has been allocated the Cooperation department and will also oversee the Environment, Forests and Climate Change department.
Meanwhile, Janata Dal (United) MLC Ashok Choudhary has been allocated the Rural Works department. Santosh Kumar Suman of Jitan Ram Manjhi's Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) will oversee the Education and Minor Irrigation departments.
The cabinet allocation followed the oath-taking ceremony, where Nitish Kumar returned as Bihar CM for the 10th time, with 26 NDA MLAs sworn in as ministers. Of the 26 elected MLAs, eight are from JD(U), two from the Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas), and one each from Upendra Kushwaha's Rashtriya Lok Morcha (RLM) and HAMS.
Having been sworn in as the Bihar Chief Minister for the 10th time, Nitish Kumar is expected to surpass Jyoti Basu's tenure as West Bengal's CM, which lasted 23 years, provided all goes well for the newly formed NDA government over the next five years.
The NDA registered a historic landslide victory in the 2025 Bihar assembly polls, winning 202 of the 243 seats, while the Mahagathbandhan secured only 35 seats. The ruling alliance secured a three-fourths majority in the 243-member Bihar Assembly, marking the second time the NDA crossed the 200-seat mark in state polls.
In the NDA, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won 89 seats, Janata Dal (United) won 85, Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) (LJPRV) won 19, Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) (HAMS) won five, and Rashtriya Lok Morcha won four seats.
Among opposition parties, the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) won 25 seats, the Indian National Congress six, the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) (Liberation) [CPI(ML)(L)] two, the Indian Inclusive Party (IIP) one, and the Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] one seat.
All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) secured five seats, while the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) won one seat. (ANI)