Nitish Kumar took oath as a Rajya Sabha member on Friday, signalling his imminent exit from the state government and clearing the way for the formation of a new government in Bihar.
The oath was administered by Rajya Sabha chairman CP Radhakrishnan in his chamber at a brief ceremony.
The oath-taking ceremony was attended by several senior political leaders, including Bihar Deputy Chief Ministers Vijay Kumar Sinha and Samrat Choudhary, BJP president JP Nadda, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Minister of State for Law and Justice Arjun Ram Meghwal, among others.
JDU leader and party's working president Sanjay Kumar Jha and Congress leader Jairam Ramesh, besides BJP MP and former union minister Rajiv Pratap Rudy were also among those present during the oath-taking.
A day before assuming his new role, Kumar had travelled to the national capital and confirmed that he would step down as Chief Minister soon. Explaining his decision, he told reporters that he believed he had completed much of his work in Bihar and now intended to focus on his responsibilities in Delhi.
"I have accomplished a lot of work in Bihar. Now I felt that I should remain here," Kumar said.
He added, "I will step down from my role there and work here. I will resign in three or four days. New individuals will be appointed as Chief Minister and Ministers."
Nitish Kumar is Bihar's longest-serving Chief Minister. Beginning his political journey as an MLA in 1985 and later serving as a Union Minister under the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government, Nitish Kumar first became Bihar Chief Minister in 2005. He is among the most experienced and senior political leaders in the country.
