Nitish Kumar was sworn in as Chief Minister of Bihar on Monday for the seventh time in two decades, in the presence of NDA leaders including Union Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP National President Jagat Prakash Nadda.

Kumar, who heads the JD(U), was given the oath of office at Raj Bhavan by Governor Phagu Chauhan the day after he made the case for the establishment of a new government in the state, armed with the unanimous support of all NDA legislators, amid the failure of his parties.

The 69-year-old, who has been on a continuous run since November 2005, with the exception of the time in 2014-15 when Jitan Ram Manjhi kept the chair warm for him, is on track to become the longest serving Chief Minister of State, surpassing the record of Shrikrishna Singh, who held the top spot from before independence until his death in 1961.

Kumar was sworn in as CM for the first time in 2000 for a period that lasted only a week as he struggled to gain a majority and returned to the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government as minister at the Middle.