Patna: For the first time in 20 years, the oath-taking ceremony at Lok Bhavan in Bihar conveyed a clear message of change at the seat of power.When JD(U) president Nitish Kumar attended the swearing-in ceremony at Lok Bhavan on Wednesday, the scene appeared markedly different. The man who remained the “star attraction” at the governor’s house, taking oath as chief minister of Bihar from both the NDA and the Grand Alliance as many as 10 times over the past two decades, was seen quietly watching the ceremony as a “spectator”, seated in the front row of guests.
Seated on a sofa alongside former BJP chief J P Nadda and Union ministers Lalan Singh, Jitan Ram Manjhi and Giriraj Singh, Nitish appeared “dejected”, resting his fingers on his chin and gazing into the distance. It was the first time in 20 years that he attended the event as a guest, following a quiet transfer of power.A peculiar moment arose when party colleague Bijendra Prasad Yadav, after taking oath as a minister, could not spot Nitish among the guests standing on the dais despite repeated attempts. Eventually, cabinet colleague Vijay Kumar Choudhary pointed towards Nitish seated on a sofa.“Dikhte nahin (Can’t you find me)?,” Nitish called out loudly, drawing laughter from the audience.The moment was striking, given that over the past 20 years, Nitish himself had been the focal point of such ceremonies, taking oath as chief minister 10 times. He first took oath in March 2000 and remained at the helm until April 14, 2026, when he handed over power to a BJP colleague.As a gesture, Samrat, after taking oath as chief minister, approached Nitish and sought his blessings. Nitish responded by placing both hands on his shoulders.“Don’t know what prompted Nitish ji to hand over power to the BJP. The masses had given the mandate to Nitish ji but he transferred power to his saffron partner,” said political expert D M Diwakar, former director of the Patna-based A N Sinha Institute of Social Studies.Another notable aspect was the absence of Nishant Kumar, who joined active politics only last month and was widely seen as a probable deputy chief minister from the JD(U) quota.
