A day after severing ties with the BJP, JD(U) leader Nitish Kumar sworn in as Chief Minister of Bihar for the eighth time. RJD’s Tejashwi Yadav took oath as deputy chief minister.

The two were administered the oath of office by Governor Phagu Chauhan in a ceremony at Raj Bhavan

Kumar on Tuesday walked out of the BJP-led NDA and joined hands with the RJD to form a ‘Mahagathbandhan’ government in the state.

After the swearing-in ceremony today, Kumar said that the NDA government at the Centre led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi needs to “worry” about its prospects in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

“Those who came to power in 2014, will they be victorious in 2024? I would like all (opposition) to be united for 2024,” Kumar said.

Speaking to reporters, he also dismissed the BJP’s claim that the new coalition government will not complete its full term, and said the seven-party led government will run “just fine”.

The JD(U) leader also said that his former ally “will be back where they were after the 2015 Assembly polls”.

The BJP has accused Kumar of pushing Bihar into the abyss of lawlessness and corruption by entering into a fresh alliance with the RJD.

Senior BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi, who served as Kumar’s deputy for more than a decade, accused the former boss of telling “blatant lie”.

“It is a blatant lie that BJP had made RCP Singh a minister without the consent of Nitish ji. Another lie is that the BJP was trying to split the JD(U). He was looking for an excuse to break ties. The BJP will return to power with a thumping majority in 2024,” Modi, who was considered as his most trusted man in the BJP, tweeted.

The ties between the BJP and the JD(U) had been under the strain for quite some time in view of differences over a range of issues including caste census, population control and the ‘Agnipath’ defence recruitment scheme.