In its first Cabinet expansion, the Jitan Ram Manjhi Government in Bihar on Monday included almost all those who were either defectors or dissidents in the party. Altogether 14 party legislators took oath with the total number of Ministers in Manjhi Cabinet now has gone upto 31.
Earlier, it was expected that the Cabinet expansion will be done after State Governor DY Patil would arrive in Patna on June 6 but political developments changed fast late on Sunday evening and the Governor was called for the Ministry expansion on urgent basis.
The most prominent name who took oath as Minister was Rajiv Ranjan Singh ‘lallan’, who earlier had turned a foe of former Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. Though, later, they joined hands again and lallan even was given party ticket to contest the last lok Sabha polls from Munger which he lost miserably.
A close confidante of Nitish from his home constituency Nalanda, Sharwan Kumar too was included in the Ministry. Among other names included in the list of Ministers were of those RJD leaders who had defected the party and resigned from the State Assembly to be nominated as JD(U) MlC. Samrat Chaudhury, Ram lakhan Ram Raman and Javed Iqbal Ansari took oath as Ministers in the Manjhi Government.
Besides, Mahachandra Singh who earlier had defected from the Congress too was included in the Cabinet along with Manoj Kumar Singh who had come from the BJP.
Two women party legislators Bima Bahrti and Ranju Geeta too took oath as Ministers. Bharti earlier had expressed her strong reservation against Nitish Government when lesi Singh was included in the Cabinet. She even had threatened to rebel against the party if she was being ignored.
The others who took oath of Ministers were Ram Dhani Singh, Jay Kumar Singh, Baidyanath Sahni, Naushad Alam and Vinod Prasad Yadav.
Though, names of two prominent BJP leaders Rana Gangeshwar and Vijay Mishra who had defected the party and joined JD(U) were missing from the list of new Ministers for reason best known to the top party leadership.
Meanwhile, soon after the new Ministers took oath voice of dissension from the JD(U) came out. “Why lallan Singh who had earlier humiliated our leader Nitish was rewarded with a ministry in the cabinetIJ” said party spokesperson Neeraj Kumar.