Ramai Ram demands Deputy CM's post from Nitish

Hours before senior Janata Dal (U) leader Nitish Kumar takes oath as the Chief Minister, former Bihar minister Ramai Ram on Sunday demanded the deputy chief minister's post.

"I have demanded from Nitish Kumar that I be made the Deputy Chief Minister. I have already demanded this from our leader and the state committee head and now it is up to him to decide," Ram told ANI in Patna.

When asked that Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad Yadav's eldest daughter Misa Bharti may be made the deputy chief minister, Ram said, "What will be the harm if two people are made (deputy chief minister)?"

Nitish will be administered the oath of office and secrecy by Bihar Governor Keshari Nath Tripathi at the Raj Bhawan in Patna at 5 p.m. today.

A host of political leaders including West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and her Uttar Pradesh counterpart Akhilesh Yadav are scheduled to attend the swearing-in ceremony.

Nitish, who was invited to form a new government by the Governor after Jitan Ram Manjhi's resignation ahead of the trust vote on Friday, has been given three weeks to prove majority in the Bihar Assembly.