PATNA, April 16 -- Former deputy chief minister Samrat Choudhary on Wednesday took oath as Bihar's 24th chief minister and first from the Bharatiya Janata Party. With him, two deputy CMs Bijendra Prasad Yadav and Vijay Kumar Choudhary -- both from JD(U) -- were also sworn in. Governor Lt Gen (Retd) Syed Ata Hasnain administered the oath to Samrat and his deputies at a simple function at the Lok Bhavan. BJP's top leaders -- Prime Minister Narendra Modi and home minister Amit Shah -- were absent on the occasion, which, party leaders said, was because of campaigns in poll-bound states and a special Parliament session that would commence from April 16. However, a host of dignitaries were present, including JD(U) president Nitish Kumar, who had given up the CM's post a day ago, Union minister and former BJP president JP Nadda and Chirag Paswan, who heads the LJP (RV), the third-largest constituent of the ruling NDA in Bihar, among others. Choudhary is a third-time MLA who joined the BJP only nine years ago. His deputies are seven-time and nine-time legislators and are veterans of Bihar politics. "I will get down to work from today itself. Be rest assured that the model of governance developed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and ex-CM Nitish Kumar will be followed in Bihar," Choudhary told reporters after the swearing in ceremony. After the oath-taking ceremony, the chief minister went to the secretariat where he held a meeting with government officials, briefing them on his administration's priorities. Later, Choudhary also visited the BJP office where party workers felicitated him. NDA insiders said that the expansion of the new cabinet would occur after the West Bengal and Tamil Nadu assembly elections as most senior leaders, including PM Modi and Shah, are busy there. Modi congratulated new Bihar CM, saying his energy, dedication to public service and grassroots experience will prove extremely beneficial for the state. "Heartiest congratulations and best wishes to Samrat Choudhary on taking oath as the Chief Minister of Bihar! His energy, dedication to public service, and grassroots experience will prove extremely beneficial for the state. I am fully confident that under his capable leadership, while fulfilling the aspirations of the people, Bihar will touch new heights of all-round development," Modi said in a post on X in Hindi. In a separate post, he also congratulated the two Deputy CMs "for their vast experience and commitment to public interest". Home minister Amit Shah also congratulated the new CM. However, till the expansion takes place, the portfolios were distributed among the top three later in the day, with the CM keeping 29 departments, including home, agriculture, road construction, industries, land reforms, mines, health, tourism, art & culture, tourism, cabinet coordination, etc. Ten departments, including water resources, parliamentary affairs, IPRD, building construction, education and rural development, went to Vijay Kumar Choudhary and eight departments, including electricity, finance, planning & development, prohibition, commercial taxes and social welfare, went to Bijendra Prasad Yadav. What is significant about the top three in the new cabinet is that all have been former finance ministers, with Bijendra Prasad Yadav having held the position in the last Nitish Kumar cabinet. For Bihar, which faces an enormous fiscal challenge characterised by high debt of over Rs.3.5-lakh crore, high committed expenditure, and significant reliance on central transfers, the trio will have their task cut out from day one. The first big task will be to restore fiscal sanity without burdening the people in a poor state, as delayed salaries, pension payments, and pending contractor payments are major causes of concern. The Bihar Budget for 2026-27 estimated a fiscal deficit of 3% of GSDP, while the 2024-25 revised estimates point to a significantly higher deficit, highlighting the strain of welfare promises, which consume a major part of revenue, reducing the scope for flexibility and development spending. "The financial strain on the state government is expected to continue despite a smooth political transition due to the state's ground realities and an unlikely sudden and extraordinary shift in administrative functioning," said Prof NK Choudhary, former head of the economics department. He said that unless the new government takes immediate corrective fiscal measures, the state might face prolonged administrative and developmental setbacks. Experts say that Bihar's fiscal challenge stems largely from difficulties in meeting expenditure commitments outlined in the 2025-2026 state budget. "The state government issued huge supplementary budgets amounting to nearly half of the original budget allocation in 2025-26. This has raised concerns about fiscal management and sustainability under the existing setup. Since February, treasury operations across district offices have reportedly been under unofficial restrictions," they added. The Opposition has been linking the financial crunch to large-scale, unplanned expenditures during the recent assembly election period, which were not accounted for in the original budget, further straining the treasury....