18th Bihar Assembly commences

The 18th Bihar Legislative Assembly commenced on Monday with newly elected members being administered the oath of office. They were sworn in by pro tem Speaker Narendra Narayan Yadav, who informed the House that members could take oath in Hindi, English, Urdu, Sanskrit or Maithili, and the process would begin with the cabinet ministers.
Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary, who has been elected from Tarapur assembly seat, was the first to take the oath, followed by fellow Deputy CM Vijay Kumar Sinha, who has retained Lakhisarai for a fourth consecutive term.
After taking oath, the ministers greeted the pro tem Speaker and Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, who, incidentally, is a member of the Legislative Council. Next in line, for taking oath, was veteran BJP leader Prem Kumar, who is understood to be the main contender for the Speaker’s post.
The election of the Speaker is scheduled on Tuesday.
After Prem Kumar, it was the turn of RJD’s Tejashwi Yadav, who is tipped to retain the post of the Leader of the Opposition. A number of MLAs, including minister Anand Shankar Prasad, took oath in Maithili, while some others, mostly from the Seemanchal region, did so in Urdu. A few members also took oath in Sanskrit.
At least one member, Vishnu Deo Paswan, elected from Darauli, took oath in English.
The five-day session is also scheduled to witness an address by Governor Arif Mohammad Khan, jointly to members of both Houses, on Wednesday, when the second supplementary budget is also scheduled to be tabled.
On Thursday, there will be the government’s reply to the debate on motion of thanks on the Governor’s address.
The session will conclude on Friday with a debate on the second supplementary budget, followed by passage of the appropriation bill.
The session comes close on the heels of the assembly polls in which the ruling NDA won a brute majority, bagging 202 out of 243 seats.
The triumphant mood in the ruling camp was evident when the Chief Minister and his cabinet colleagues posed for photographs upon reaching the Vidhan Sabha premises, where they were presented with bouquets of flowers.