Patna, 19 Nov

JD(U) supremo Nitish Kumar on Wednesday submitted his resignation as the head of the outgoing NDA government in Bihar to Governor Arif Mohammad Khan, state BJP president Dilip Jaiswal said.

The Governor accepted his resignation and asked him to continue as caretaker chief minister until a new government is formed, Jaiswal told reporters.

Kumar was accompanied by Union minister Chirag Paswan, RLM chief Upendra Kushwaha and Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya during his visit to Raj Bhavan.

Kumar will take oath as chief minister for a record 10th time at Patna’s historic Gandhi Maidan at 11 am on Thursday.

Earlier in the day, Kumar was chosen as the leader of the NDA in Bihar during a meeting of newly elected MLAs of the alliance partners here.

The NDA stormed back to power in Bihar, winning 202 seats in the 243-member assembly, with BJP bagging 89, JD(U) 85, LJP(RV) 19, HAM 5 and RLM 4.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and several top NDA leaders are set to attend the swearing-in ceremony of Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and his cabinet at Patna’s historic Gandhi Maidan on Thursday, sources said.

Preparations for the oath-taking event are in the final stages, with Kumar set to assume office as chief minister for a record 10th time.

Several Union ministers and chief ministers of NDA-ruled states are expected to be present at the event.

A large number of security personnel have been deployed in and around Gandhi Maidan, and entry of the general public has been completely banned until November 20, sources added.

Vehicular traffic has also been diverted on certain routes leading to Gandhi Maidan due to the event.

Nitish Kumar had reviewed preparations for the oath-taking evcent on Tuesday. He was accompanied by Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary, several ministers, and Chief Secretary Pratyaya Amrit.