The preparations have been expedited for the oath ceremony at Patna’s Gandhi Maidan. A joint team of senior officials from the district administration, police department, Nagar Nigam, and other agencies visited the site and reviewed the preparations.
The Gandhi Maidan has been divided into zones so that law and order can be managed effectively.
At least 25 officers have been deployed from the General Administration Department for the oath ceremony, with five officials specifically assigned to welcome VIP guests. The centre stage at Gandhi Maidan has been prepared according to safety standards.
The officials ensured tight security arrangements by barricading the venue, creating a separate route for special guests, designating an area for the media, and arranging seating for visitors.
Different agencies have been assigned responsibility for the pandal, sound system, and lighting. Divisional Commissioner Animesh Kumar Parashar, Range IG Jitendra Rana, and District Magistrate Dr. Thyagarajan S.M. inspected the ongoing preparations at Gandhi Maidan and issued necessary instructions to officials.
Only two leaders-Lalu Prasad Yadav and Nitish Kumar-have had the opportunity to take oath at Gandhi Maidan.
Before 1990, the oath ceremonies of elected governments in Bihar were strictly official programmes. People received information through newspapers or radio–television news bulletins that the Chief Minister and ministers had taken oath.
On 10 March 1990, Janata Dal leader Lalu Prasad Yadav became Chief Minister for the first time. At that time, Lalu Yadav was considered a grassroots leader, and he acknowledged that the people of Bihar were the ones who helped him become the Chief Minister.
Lalu believed that since the public had given him the opportunity, the common people should also witness the oath-taking ceremony. He wanted to begin his new government’s journey from Gandhi Maidan, the birthplace of Jayaprakash Narayan’s Total Revolution movement.
Respecting this wish, then Governor Muhammad Yunus Salim administered the oath of office to Lalu Prasad Yadav at Gandhi Maidan. He became the first leader to take oath outside Raj Bhavan in Patna.
However, in later years, both Lalu Yadav and his wife Rabri Devi took their oaths as Chief Ministers only at Raj Bhavan.
In 2005, the Nitish Kumar-led NDA government secured a majority in the Assembly, and he carried Lalu’s tradition forward by taking oath at Gandhi Maidan on November 24, 2005.
In 2010, Nitish received a massive mandate with 206 seats and again took oath at Gandhi Maidan on November 25, 2010.
In 2014, after pulling out of the NDA, Nitish challenged the BJP in the 2015 Assembly elections. He joined hands with the RJD and received a huge mandate. Nitish, along with Lalu Prasad Yadav’s sons Tejashwi Yadav and Tej Pratap Yadav, took oath at Gandhi Maidan.
In 2020, the oath ceremony was held at Raj Bhavan due to Covid-19 protocols.
Now, in 2025, the NDA has received a massive mandate with 202 seats, and Nitish Kumar will take oath for the 10th time as the Chief Minister of Bihar.
