Nitish Kumar unanimously elected as NDA leader ahead of govt formation in Bihar

Patna (Bihar) [India], November 19 (ANI): Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Wednesday was unanimously elected as the legislative leader of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), a day before the swearing-in ceremony.
Along with Kumar's deputies Samrat Choudhary and Vijay Kumar Sinha, Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) or [LJP (RV)] chief Chirag Paswan and Bihar Bharatriya Janata Party (BJP) president Dilip Kumar Jaiswal were present on the occasion.
The 2025 Bihar assembly elections concluded with the NDA sweeping 202 seats. Of the 202 assembly constituencies, the BJP won 89 seats, and the Nitish Kumar-led Janata Dal (United) won 85.
Earlier in the day, Kumar was elected leader of the JD(U) legislative party at a meeting held at his residence in Patna. He will tender his resignation to Governor Arif Mohammad Khan today and will take oath as the Bihar Chief Minister for the 10th time.
Ahead of the formation of the new government, Samrat Choudhary was elected leader of the BJP legislative party in Bihar, while Vijay Sinha was elected deputy leader.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and other prominent leaders of the NDA will attend the swearing-in ceremony, scheduled to be held tomorrow. Various Chief Ministers of NDA-rule states are also expected to attend the ceremony.
"The leader of the BJP legislature party will be selected today. It will be a historic oath-taking ceremony tomorrow as PM Modi and CMs of all states will be attending it," BJP leader Prem Kumar told ANI.
The NDA registered a historic landslide victory in the 2025 Bihar assembly polls, winning 202 of the 243 seats, while the Mahagathbandhan managed to secure 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 2010, it had won 206 seats.
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.
The Bihar assembly elections were held in two phases on November 6 and 11. Bihar recorded a historic 67.13 per cent voter turnout, the highest since 1951, with women voters outpacing men (71.6% vs 62.8%). (ANI)