Bihar Congress workers protest against state Chief Rajesh Ram and in-charge Krishna Allavaru after poor poll performance

PATNA: Congress workers in Bihar staged a protest in Patna on Friday, expressing anger against State Congress chief Rajesh Ram and the party’s Bihar in-charge Krishna Allavaru following the Mahagathbandhan’s poor performance in the state elections.

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.

Meanwhile, a day earlier, Janata Dal (United) chief Nitish Kumar was sworn in as Bihar Chief Minister for a record 10th time.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Samrat Choudhary and Vijay Kumar Sinha on Thursday took oath as Bihar Deputy Chief Ministers in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other prominent leaders of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA).

The swearing-in ceremony was administered by Bihar Governor Arif Mohammad Khan. A total of 25 leaders, apart from Nitish Kumar, took oath as part of the new NDA-led Bihar Cabinet.

Among them were Samrat Choudhary (BJP), Vijay Kumar Sinha (BJP), Vijay Kumar Choudhary (JD-U), Bijendra Prasad Yadav (JD-U), Shravan Kumar (JD-U), Mangal Pandey (BJP), Dilip Kumar Jaiswal (BJP) and Ashok Choudhary (JD-U).

Others who joined the Cabinet include Lesi Singh (JD-U), Madan Sahani (JD-U), Nitin Nabin (BJP), Ram Kripal Yadav (BJP), Santosh Kumar Suman of HAM(S), Sunil Kumar (JD-U), Mohammad Zama Khan (JD-U) and Sanjay Singh Tigar (BJP).

The list also features Arun Shankar Prasad (BJP), Surendra Mehta (BJP), Narayan Prasad (BJP), Rama Nishad (BJP), Lakhendra Kumar Raushan (BJP) and Shreyashi Singh (BJP).

Additionally, Pramod Kumar (BJP), Sanjay Kumar of LJP(RV), Sanjay Kumar Singh of LJP(RV) and Deepak Prakash of the RLM were sworn in as ministers.

The swearing-in ceremony took place at Patna’s historic Gandhi Maidan here, which has hosted his inaugurations in 2005, 2010, and 2015. It is at this venue that Jayaprakash Narayan called for “total revolution” during a speech in 1974.

Various Chief Ministers of NDA-ruled states were also present at the oath-taking ceremony. Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, Nagaland Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, and Uttarakhand CM Pushkar Singh Dhami, among others, were present.

Bihar Governor Arif Mohammad Khan and LJP (RV) Chief Chirag Paswan, among others, participated in the ceremony at Gandhi Maidan.

The 2025 Bihar Assembly polls were considered as the litmus test for Nitish Kumar, who has managed to steer the politics of Bihar around him in every election over the past 20 years. (ANI)