New Delhi [India], November 19 : Janata Dal (United) supremo Nitish Kumar has staked a claim to form the government in Bihar after the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) swept 202 assembly constituencies.
He met Bihar Governor Arif Mohammad Khan on Wednesday and tendered his resignation as the Chief Minister.
Kumar will return as the Bihar Chief Minister tomorrow for the 10th time after taking oath at Patna's historic Gandhi Maidan, where Jayaprakash Narayan called for "total revolution" during a speech in 1974.
Earlier in the day, Kumar was unanimously elected as the legislative leader of the NDA, a day before the swearing-in ceremony. He was also elected leader of the JD(U) legislative party at a meeting held at his residence in Patna.
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.
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.
Amit Shah and BJP national president JP Nadda have already reached Patna ahead of the oath ceremony.
Congratulatory greetings from NDA leaders started to pour in after Nitish Kumar's election as the legislative leader of NDA.
LJP (RV) leader Sanjay Paswan said, "On behalf of my party and my leader Chirag Paswan, I congratulate Nitish Kumar. I also extend him best wishes. May God bless him with a long life so that he may continue to lead us for a long."
Bihar JD(U) president Umesh Singh Kishwaha said, "Oath ceremony will be held tomorrow. NDA leader has been elected. All NDA allies have elected CM Nitish Kumar as the leader of the NDA legislative party."
Rashtriya Lok Morcha (RLM) leader Snehlata said that the NDA government will continue to work for women. "Nitish Kumar will be the CM. He will continue to work as he has been doing so far. NDA government has worked for women, and it will continue to do so," she added.
LJP (RV) leader Hulas Pande said, "Heartiest congratulations to all the people of Bihar. They gave us immense support. They placed their trust in the double-engine Government of NDA. Bihar elections were fought under the leadership of the CM, and he has been elected as the leader of the NDA legislative party once again."
BJP leader Ram Kripal Yadav said, "Nitish Kumar has been unanimously elected as the leader of the NDA legislative party once again. Development is our agenda."
BJP leader Prem Kumar said that the NDA government will work to meet people's expectations.
"We will work to meet the expectations of people. We believe in doing our work. That is why I have been elected 9 times. NDA has received such a massive mandate in Bihar. There was bumper voting. All sections of society have reposed their faith in the NDA. We will continue doing development work," 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%).