India / Nitish elected leader of NDA in Bihar, set to become CM for 4th straight term

Patna: In a significant development, the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) on Sunday (November 15) unanimously elected Janata Dal-United chief Nitish Kumar as its leader. The formal election of Nitish Kumar as NDA leader means that he will be the next chief minister of Bihar. BJP leader Sushil Modi was elected as the deputy leader of the NDA.

Nitish Kumar will take oath on Monday (November 16) at 11:30 AM at Governor's House in Patna. This will be the Nitish's fourth consecutive term as the CM of Bihar. The formal announcement of Nitish Kumar's as NDA leader in Bihar came after a meeting which was attended by senior NDA leaders in Patna. 

Earlier, Nitish Kumar had dissolved the Bihar Assembly and handed over his resignation to Governor Phagu Chauhan.

In the recently concluded Bihar assembly elections, the BJP had won 74 seats, JD-U 43, while eight seats were won by two other NDA constituents. The NDA combined won 125 seats, which is three more than the majority mark in the 243-strong Bihar assembly. The RJD, led by 31-year-old Tejashwi Yadav, emerged as the single-largest party with 75 seats. The opposition alliance won 110 seats.

On November 12, two days after the Bihar assembly election result were announced, CM Nitish said that decision on who will be the next Chief Minister will be taken by the alliance, indicating the matter is still being discussed despite assurances from BJP that he would retain the post. He told mediapersons that he has not made any claim and decision about the leader of the ruling alliance in the state will be taken by the constituents.