18th Bihar Assembly Session begins with oaths and key preparations

Patna, Dec 1: The 18th Bihar Legislative Assembly kicked off on Monday with newly elected members taking their oaths of office. Pro tem Speaker Narendra Narayan Yadav administered the oath, informing members that they could swear in using Hindi, English, Urdu, Sanskrit, or Maithili.

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Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary, representing Tarapur, was the first to take the oath, followed by Deputy CM Vijay Kumar Sinha, who secured a fourth consecutive term from Lakhisarai.

Veteran BJP leader Prem Kumar, widely seen as the frontrunner for the Speaker’s post, also took his oath, ahead of the scheduled Speaker election on Tuesday. RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav, tipped to continue as Leader of the Opposition, followed next.

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Several MLAs embraced regional and classical languages while taking the oath—minister Anand Shankar Prasad and others opted for Maithili, members from the Seemanchal region chose Urdu, a few took their oath in Sanskrit, and Darauli MLA Vishnu Deo Paswan swore in using English.

After the ceremony, the ministers greeted both the pro tem Speaker and Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, who is a Legislative Council member.

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The five-day session is set to feature Governor Arif Mohammad Khan’s address to both Houses on Wednesday, coinciding with the tabling of the second supplementary budget.

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Thursday will see the government responding to the debate on the motion of thanks for the Governor’s address, while Friday is reserved for a discussion on the supplementary budget and the passage of the appropriation bill.

The session follows closely after the assembly elections, in which the ruling NDA secured a commanding victory, winning 202 of 243 seats.

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