Nitish Kumar, the President of the Janata Dal (United) (JD(U)), has been elected as the leader of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in Bihar and is scheduled to take his oath as Chief Minister in Patna today. This upcoming swearing-in ceremony marks his tenth time being administered the chief ministerial oath in the state, establishing a new record for the highest number of times any Chief Minister has taken the oath in India.
Conventionally, based on the number of Assembly elections won, the veteran politician would have only been sworn in five times, aligning him with a club of 14 other Chief Ministers in India. However, Kumar’s politically “unconventional” career, marked by multiple high-profile alliance switches, has inflated his tally significantly.
Kumar’s Tenure: A History of Shifts
Nitish Kumar’s tenures illustrate his unique political resilience and fluidity:
- 1st Term (2000): Lasted only seven days after his government failed to muster a majority in the Assembly.
- 2nd and 3rd Terms (2005 & 2010): Sworn in after NDA secured a majority in the Assembly elections.
- 4th Term (2015): Resigned in 2014 following the JD(U)’s loss, installing Jitan Ram Manjhi as CM, but then took charge again before the 2015 elections.
- 5th Term (2015): Sworn in after the 2015 elections as the leader of the JD(U)-RJD-Congress alliance (Mahagathbandhan).
- 6th Term (2017): Switched sides from the Mahagathbandhan back to the NDA in 2017, triggering an oath-taking ceremony.
- 7th Term (2020): Sworn in again as the leader of the NDA following the 2020 Assembly elections.
- 8th Term (2022): Deserted the NDA to rejoin the RJD-led Mahagathbandhan, leading to another oath.
- 9th Term (2024): Returned to the NDA again in 2024, resulting in a fresh oath-taking ceremony.
- 10th Term (2025): The current term, following the NDA’s landslide victory in the recent Assembly elections.
Longest-Serving CM Status
Despite his record number of oaths, Kumar is not the longest-serving Chief Minister in India by total days in office.
- Current Rank: He has served for 7,023 days as Chief Minister (as per HT’s database), placing him eighth on the list of longest-serving Chief Ministers in the country.
- Potential Rank: Should he complete his full five-year term (1,845 days) this time, he would ascend to become the third longest-serving Chief Minister in India’s history, placing him behind only Pawan Kumar Chamling (Sikkim) and Naveen Patnaik (Odisha).
Governor Turnover Record
Nitish Kumar also holds a significant record for the number of Governors he has worked alongside during his term. He has seen 14 Governors while holding the Chief Minister’s office, making him the third in this particular category, behind only Lal Thanhawla (Mizoram) and Virbhadra Singh (Himachal Pradesh).