Nitish Kumar on Thursday began a record 10th term as the Chief Minister of Bihar with a Cabinet of 26 ministers. However, no deputy CM(s) were announced at his oath taking ceremony attended by PM Narendra Modi and CMs of several NDA-ruled States.
Kumar, who became the longest serving CM of Bihar was administered the oath of office by Governor Arif Mohammed Khan at the Gandhi Maidan. The portfolios to the ministers were not immediately allocated. However, 14 ministerial berths went to the BJP, eight to the JD(U), two to Lok Jan Shakti Party (Ram Vilas), and one each to Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) and Rashtriya Lok Morcha (RLM). The maximum ministers permissible for the State Cabinet, including the CM, is 36.
“Congratulations to Shri Nitish Kumar Ji on taking oath as Bihar’s Chief Minister. He is an experienced administrator with a proven track record of good governance for many years. My best wishes to him for his tenure ahead,” the PM posted on social media.
The ministers, who took oath on Thursday, included Samrat Choudhary and Vijay Kumar Sinha, both deputy CMs in the previous Government. Other BJP leaders who took the oath included Mangal Pandey, Nitin Nabin, and Surendra Prasad Mehta.
State BJP president Dilip Jaiswal, who had resigned from the cabinet nearly two years ago in keeping with the party’s ‘one person, one post’ policy, was back in the council of ministers. From the JD (U), all the newly appointed ministers were part of the previous Government, including Zama Khan, the lone Muslim MLA in the NDA.
Out of 26, five ministers in the new Cabinet are Dalits — one each from BJP, LJPRV, and HAM, and two from JD(U). Eight ministers belong to the upper castes, including four Rajputs. Three Yadavs have also been accommodated in the new Cabinet, which is a mix of senior coalition leaders and new entrants, with the focus on caste and regional balance.
Meanwhile, the induction Deepak Prakash, son of Rashtriya Lok Morcha (RLM) chief and Rajya Sabha MP Upendra Kushwaha, who is neither an MLA nor MLC, set aside speculation that Kushwaha’s wife, Snehlata, elected from Sasaram Assembly seat, might be included in the new cabinet. Prakash recently returned to India after studying abroad.
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu, Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath, Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma, Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis, Delhi CM Rekha Gupta and Madhya Pradesh CM Mohan Yadav attended the jam packed Gandhi Maidan ceremony venue.
BJP has also brought in fresh faces like Shreyasi Singh, a professional shooter of international fame, who has been elected from Jamui for a second consecutive term. Another notable inclusion is Ram Kripal Yadav, a former Union minister who lost the Patliputra Lok Sabha seat last year but was elected from Danapur in the assembly polls.