Bihar Assembly: 18th Vidhan Sabha Opens With Multilingual Oaths, Speaker Election up Next

The inaugural session of the newly constituted 18th Bihar Legislative Assembly commenced on December 1, 2025, with newly elected Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs) taking their oaths in a vibrant display of the state’s linguistic diversity. Pro-tem Speaker Narendra Narayan Yadav administered the oath-taking ceremony, allowing legislators to swear or affirm allegiance to the Constitution in any of five recognised languages: Hindi, English, Urdu, Sanskrit, or Maithili. The multilingual procedure, a long-standing tradition in Bihar, reflects the state’s commitment to inclusivity and cultural pluralism, with several MLAs opting for Urdu and Maithili alongside the more commonly used Hindi and English.

The five-day session, scheduled to run until December 5, marks the formal beginning of the new Assembly following the recent state elections. The highlight of the second day, December 2, will be the election of the permanent Speaker, a position crucial for conducting House proceedings. Senior BJP leader and six-term MLA Nand Kishore Yadav is widely expected to be elected unopposed after the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) secured a comfortable majority. The oath-taking process saw Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, Deputy Chief Ministers Samrat Choudhary and Vijay Kumar Sinha, and other prominent leaders, including Leader of Opposition Tejashwi Yadav, complete their formal induction into the House.

The ceremony proceeded smoothly under tight security arrangements at the newly renovated Central Hall of the Bihar Vidhan Sabha, which has been upgraded with modern facilities while retaining its historic architecture. Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar addressed the joint sitting earlier in the day, outlining the government’s agenda for the term, which includes accelerated infrastructure development, women’s empowerment schemes, and continuation of the state’s prohibition policy. The session is expected to witness the tabling of supplementary demands for grants and discussions on key legislative business.

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With the NDA retaining power and the opposition Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD)-led Mahagathbandhan looking to play a constructive yet assertive role, the 18th Assembly begins its tenure on a note of political stability tempered by the usual partisan undercurrents. As Bihar embarks on another legislative cycle, the multilingual oaths serve as a symbolic reminder of the state’s rich cultural mosaic and democratic ethos.

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