He was administered the oath of office and secrecy by Governor Buta Singh at a public function at Gandhi Maidan in Patna.

State Bharatiya Janata Party President Sushil Kumar Modi was sworn-in as the deputy chief minister of the JD(U)-BJP coalition government.

The swearing-in ceremony was attended among others by several National Democratic Alliance leaders, including former Prime Minister A B Vajpayee, BJP president L K Advani, JD(U) leaders Sharad Yadav and Jaya Jaitely.

Nitish said that his cabinet will meet in Patna on Friday to finalise the date for the inaugural session of the state legislature during which he would seek the customary vote of confidence.

The NDA got a simple majority in the 243-member assembly, claiming 146 seats.

"The Election Commission of India has done a good job in Bihar. It has broken the myth that you can never have free and fair polls in the state. The people of Bihar have given us a mandate, which I accept it with full humility," Nitish Kumar told journalists.

"Our first job would be to give good administration to the people of Bihar and bring the state back on track," he said.

Nitish Kumar along with former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee waves at the crowd at Nitish's swearing-in ceremony as new chief minister of Bihar.

Photograph: STR/AFP/Getty Images

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