Shatrughan Sinha won't attend, citing 'important personal engagements.' Will L K Advani be present?
M I Khan reports on Friday's swearing-in ceremony, the likes of which Patna may not have seen before.
Nine chief ministers -- West Bengal Chief Minister Mamta Banerjee, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi, Sikkim Chief Minister Pawan Chamling, Manipur Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh, Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Nabam Tuki, Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav and Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah -- former prime minister H D Deve Gowda and eight former chief ministers will attend Nitish Kumar's swearing-in ceremony at Patna's Gandhi Maidan on Friday, November 20.
Other leaders who will be present at the event are Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi, Nationalist Congress Party President Sharad Pawar, Communist Party of India-Marxist General Secretary Sitaram Yechury, the Communist Party of India's D Raja, National Conference President Dr Farooq Abdullah, Rashtriya Lok Dal President Ajit Singh, Indian National Lok Dal President Abhay Chautala and the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam's M K Stalin.
"Nitish Kumar telephoned Prime Minister Modi to invite him to the swearing-in ceremony. Modi accepted the invitation, but expressed his inability to attend it because of prior engagements," officials in Patna said.
Union Ministers M Venkaiah Naidu and Rajiv Pratap Rudy will represent the central government at the event.
Nitish Kumar has also invited L K Advani though it is uncertain if the BJP veteran will be present.
"It is the first time that such a large number of top politicians from across the country will gather in Patna to attend the swearing-in ceremony. It is a positive development and a new beginning," the Janata Dal-United's Bihar unit president Vashisht Narain Singh told Rediff.com
Meanwhile, Bharatiya Janata Party MP Shatrughan Sinha -- who has been criticising the party's strategy for the Bihar assembly election and was warming up to Nitish Kumar and Rashtriya Janata Dal President Lalu Yadav after their landslide victory -- will not be present.
'I received an invitation from my friend (Nitish Kumar) and I wanted to come for the oath-taking function,' the BJP MP from Patna Sahib was quoted as saying by the news agencies, 'but will not be able to attend due to important personal engagements.'
Former chief ministers Sheila Dikshit, Shankersingh Waghela, Ajit Jogi, Bhupender Singh Hooda, Babu Lal Marandi, Hemant Soren and Omar Abdullah will also be present at the ceremony.
The Shiv Sena, the BJP's ally in Maharashtra, has deputed two state ministers Ramdas Kadam and Subhash Desai to attend.
Others expected in Patna are Ghulam Nabi Azad, the Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, Ram Jethmalani, Prakash Ambedkar and former editor H K Dua.
More than 2,000 security personnel will be deployed at the venue.
Two huge stages have been erected for the VVIPs. Nitish Kumar, his ministers and the VVIPs will be seated on the main stage. The Mahagathbandan's newly elected MLAs will be assigned the adjacent stage.
In Bihar's next government, 16 ministers will be from Lalu Prasad's RJD, 15 from the JD-U and five from the Congress.
The chief minister and his cabinet will be sworn in at 2 pm.
