Patna: The opening day of the 18th Bihar Assembly’s first session turned into a vibrant celebration of Mithila’s cultural identity on Monday, as 14 newly elected MLAs chose to take their oath in Maithili—the highest number ever. Of the 243 legislators, 237 were sworn in, while six will take their oath on Tuesday, with pro-tem Speaker Narendra Narayan Yadav administering the ceremony.
A show of Maithili pride
Though legislators were offered the choice of Hindi, Sanskrit, Urdu, English and Maithili, the prominence of Mithila was unmistakable. Most members opted for Hindi, but a significant number used Sanskrit and Urdu too. Yet it was Maithili that dominated the morning, making the Assembly floor ‘Mithilamay’.
Several MLAs arrived wearing the iconic Mithila pag, gamchha and traditional attire. The youngest MLA, Maithili Thakur, appeared in a yellow sari with a pag proudly tied around her head, taking her oath in her native language.
Who took oath in Maithili?
The list of 14 Maithili-speaking MLAs included:
Maithili Thakur, Rajesh Kumar Mandal, Sanjay Sarawgi, Ramchandra Prasad, Murari Mohan Jha, Sudhanshu Shekhar, Vinod Narayan Jha, Meena Kumari, Madhav Anand, Nitish Mishra, Sujeet Kumar, Vinay Kumar Chaudhary and Asif Ahmed.
Ahmed notably defeated the BJP’s firebrand leader in Bachchhaul.
Sanskrit, Urdu and English also heard
The ceremony began with Deputy CM Samrat Choudhary, followed by ministers and other senior members.
Those who chose Sanskrit included Tarkishore Prasad, Ratnesh Sada, Mithilesh Tiwari, Sanjay Kumar Singh and Virendra Kumar.
In Urdu, AIMIM legislators such as Abidur Rahman, Mohammed Murshid Alam, Mohammed Kamrul Huda, Sarwar Alam and Akhtarul Iman took oath.
Among those opting for English were JDU MLA Chetan Anand and LJP (Ram Vilas) MLA Vishnu Dev Paswan.
Vande Mataram, Bismillah echo in the House
After each oath, chants of “Vande Mataram” and “Bismillah” echoed through the chamber—reflecting the diverse religious and cultural representation of the newly elected House.
Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, Leader of the Opposition Tejashwi Yadav and Speaker Yadav exchanged greetings. In a moment that quickly went viral, JDU’s Chetan Anand touched Tejashwi’s feet for blessings. “Politics is separate; relationships are separate,” he said later. Another image that drew attention was RJD MLA Gautam Krishna arriving in slippers.
‘Mithila’s development is Bihar’s development’
Many first-time MLAs emphasised the need to accelerate development in their regions. Benipur MLA Ajay Chaudhary, wearing a bright Mithila pag, declared:
“Nitish Kumar has placed deep trust in the people of Mithila. Bihar cannot progress without Mithila’s development.”
BJP MLA Sujeet Kumar, who also took oath in Maithili, reminded the House that it was Atal Bihari Vajpayee who ensured the language’s inclusion in the Eighth Schedule.
Young, educated faces take centre stage
The Assembly features a striking number of young and highly educated legislators. RLM MLA Anand Madhav, elected from Madhubani, said Bihar had entered a “golden five-year cycle”, with many MLAs coming from elite institutions including IITs and IIMs.
Samriddh Verma, the newly elected BJP MLA from Sikta and a graduate of the University of California, said the mandate was an opportunity to work under “Modi-Nitish 2.0” to build a developed Bihar.
Cabinet responsibilities and new ambitions
Sanjay Tiger, newly appointed Labour Resources Minister, said the NDA would deliver on its ambitious promise of one crore jobs, adding that the Centre had already provided employment opportunities to 50 lakh people over the past five years.
JDU’s Shubhanand Mukesh from Kahalgaon, son of veteran Congress leader Sadanand Singh, said he was committed to honouring the trust placed in him by Nitish Kumar.
From the Left benches, Paliganj MLA Sandeep Saurabh vowed that despite the opposition’s reduced strength, “our struggle will not diminish.”
A moment of laughter
A rare light-hearted moment arrived when Nitish Kumar told a newly sworn-in JDU MLA—“I voted for you!”—drawing laughter across the House.
