Confident that new NDA govt in Bihar will accelerate state's progress: Jaishankar

New Delhi, Nov 20 (PTI) Union minister S Jaishankar on Thursday extended congratulations to Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar after he was sworn in for a record 10th term, and asserted that he was confident that the new NDA government in the state will accelerate its progress and contribute to India's journey towards becoming a Viksit Bharat.

Kumar, 71, took oath on Thursday at a grand ceremony in Patna, attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and CMs of several NDA-ruled states and senior alliance leaders.

"Hearty congratulations to @NitishKumar ji on taking oath again as Chief Minister of Bihar. Best wishes to Deputy CMs @samrat4bjp ji and @VijayKrSinhaBih ji and to all Ministers who have assumed office today. Confident that the new NDA Government will accelerate Bihar’s progress & contribute to our journey towards Viksit Bharat," the external affairs minister posted on X.

Besides Kumar, 26 ministers were sworn in on the occasion -- 14 from the BJP, 8 from JD(U), LJP(RV) 2, HAM 1 and RLM 1.

They included Samrat Choudhary and Vijay Kumar Sinha, both deputy CMs in the previous government, who have been elected as the BJP's leader and deputy leader, respectively, following the polls.

The NDA government returned to power in Bihar with 202 seats in the 243-member state assembly. The BJP emerged as the single-largest party with 89 seats, followed by JD(U) with 85. Among the smaller allies, LJP(RV) won 19 seats, HAM-S 5 and RLM 4.

Kumar, who is a member of the legislative council (MLC), did not contest the assembly elections.

He is among the 10 longest-serving CMs in the country and has been in power for 19 years.

Kumar was administered the oath of office at Gandhi Maidan, where the massive makeshift stage also seated Union Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP national president Jagat Prakash Nadda, both of whom had arrived in Patna on Wednesday night. PTI KND NB