Bihar Election Results: New Government to Take Office on November 20, Ministerial Posts to be Decided

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Bihar has a new government on the horizon, following the landslide victory of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in the state's assembly elections. The alliance secured 202 out of 243 seats, leaving the Opposition far behind. The NDA-led government is set to be sworn in on November 20 at Gandhi Maidan, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and thousands of people expected to attend the historic ceremony. The current government will dissolve on November 19. Bihar's current assembly term ends on November 22, but the new government is expected to take office sooner. Nitish Kumar, the longest-serving chief minister, has tendered his resignation to the state Governor, Arif Mohammed Khan, ahead of the formation of the new assembly. As the new government takes shape, the NDA parties are considering allocating one ministerial post for every six MLAs to ensure balanced representation. The division of slots among the NDA parties is expected to be: one slot each to the Rashtriya Lok Morcha (RLM) and Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) (HAM(S)), three to the Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) (LJP(RV)), and the remaining 30-31 to be divided between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Janata Dal (United) (JD(U)). The maximum number of cabinet positions is constitutionally capped at 15% of an assembly's strength, which in Bihar's case means up to 36 ministers, including the chief minister. The final decision on the number of ministers to be sworn in will be made by the NDA parties. The new government is expected to be formed in the coming days, with Nitish Kumar likely to be sworn in as the chief minister again.