After securing a slender victory in the recently held Assembly elections in Bihar, Nitish Kumar is all set to be sworn in as the Chief Minister for the fourth consecutive term. The oath taking ceremony will be held at 4:30 pm on Monday at the Raj Bhavan in Patna.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP National President JP Nadda are also likely to attend the ceremony. According to reports, Bihar is likely to have two Deputy Chief Ministers —  Tarkishore Prasad and Renu Devi — and it is speculated that incumbent Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi will be getting a bigger role in New Delhi. Kathir MLA Tarkishore Prasad was on Sunday elected as party’s leader in the Assembly in the presence of the Defence Minister Rajnath Singh.

"The Governor was handed over the letter of support from all four constituents of the NDA. As per his direction, we shall be taking oath at the Raj Bhavan, tomorrow, around 4- 4.30 pm", said Nitish Kumar, said, speaking to the media after he was elected the leader of the NDA in Bihar. However, when asked about Sushil Modi, he evaded the question, and said "it will be known in due course." He further added, " After the swearing-in, we will convene a meeting of the Cabinet where a decision on convening the Assembly session will be taken."

Around 16 MLAs are expected to be sworn-in as Ministers along with Nitish. Reports suggest that there will be seven ministers each from Janata Dal (United) and the Bharatiya Janata Party, and once each from Mukesh Sahni's Vikasheel Insaan Party and Jitan Ram Manjhi’s Hindustani Awam Morcha-Secular. BJP, which has established itself as the upper hand in the alliance, has secured the Speaker’s position.

This will be the seventh time that Nitish Kumar will take oath to become the Chief Minister of Bihar. The opposition's young scion, Tejashwi Yadav, whose party had emerged as the single-largest party with 75 seats, will not be attending the ceremony despite invitation, according to reports.