Patna, 28 Jan

JD(U) President Nitish Kumar, who took oath as Chief Minister of Bihar for a record ninth time on Sunday after a dramatic volte-face, asserted that there is now no question of leaving the NDA-fold.

Kumar was sworn in by Governor Rajendra Arlekar at Raj Bhavan here, hours after he resigned from the post, saying "things were not working well" for him in the Grand Alliance and the opposition bloc INDIA.

"I was with them (NDA) earlier, too. We went on different paths, but now we are together and will remain so... I came back to where I was (NDA), and now there is no question of going anywhere else," the 72-year-old leader told reporters after taking oath as the CM. "You people know that I believe in work and the same will continue. I will keep doing work for the overall development of the state", said the CM.

He said a total of eight people took oath on Sunday as ministers, and names of the remaining ones will be decided soon.

BJP leaders - Samrat Choudhary and former Speaker Vijay Kumar Sinha - will be the deputy chief ministers, Kumar said, adding leaders of three parties have been accommodated. "The cabinet will be expanded soon," the CM said.

Commenting on the collapse of INDIA alliance, Kumar, who had played an instrumental role in bring various opposition parties together, said, "They (INDIA bloc leaders) were not doing anything. Nothing happened after the first meeting of INDIA bloc that took place in Patna last year. Now, I have come back to the same place, where I was earlier (with NDA)".

Taking to X, Kumar said, "I express my gratitude to the Prime Minister Narendra Modi on behalf of all the people of Bihar...and also on my own behalf...for his good wishes. The new government (NDA) has been formed in Bihar and we will keep serving people of the state, which is our basic objective. With the NDA government at the Centre and state, development work will gain momentum".