Bihar cabinet expansion today, Nitish Kumar likely to join, 31 MLAs to take oath

Sources said calls have already gone out to leaders who are expected to be inducted into the Bihar cabinet. Both the BJP and JDU finalised their quota of ministers on Wednesday night after meetings in Patna with Union Home Minister Amit Shah.

In Short

• Bihar cabinet to expand with 31 new ministers today
• Nishant Kumar, Nitish Kumar's son, likely to join JDU cabinet
• BJP and JDU finalised ministerial quotas after meetings with Amit Shah

The Samrat Choudhary-led Bihar government is set for a major cabinet expansion on Thursday, with as many as 31 members likely to be sworn in as ministers. Former Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s son, Nishant Kumar, is also expected to join the cabinet just weeks after formally entering politics and joining the Janata Dal (United) following his father’s resignation.

Sources said calls have already gone out to leaders who are expected to be inducted into the cabinet. Both the BJP and JDU finalised their quota of ministers on Wednesday night after hectic meetings in Patna attended by Union Home Minister Amit Shah and senior alliance leaders.

NEW FACES, OLD GUARD IN JDU QUOTA

Among the prominent JDU names likely to take oath are several senior leaders from the Nitish Kumar camp, along with a few new faces. Shweta Gupta is set to make her debut as a minister, while Damodar Rawat has also received a call for induction.

Sources said almost all senior JDU leaders who served in the previous Nitish Kumar government have been accommodated again.

There is also intense buzz around Nishant Kumar, who has reportedly agreed to join the Samrat Choudhary government after initially declining a cabinet berth last month.

According to sources close to the family, Nishant, an engineering graduate who recently entered active politics, agreed after repeated persuasion from senior JDU leaders and party workers.

BJP FINALISES KEY NAMES

From the BJP quota, Deputy Chief Minister Vijay Kumar Sinha has received a call for the swearing-in ceremony. Other BJP leaders likely to take oath include Kedar Gupta, Mithilesh Tiwari, Nitish Mishra, Pramod Chandravanshi, Rama Nishad, Lakhindra Paswan, Sanjay Singh Tiger and Engineer Shailendra, who may get his first ministerial opportunity.

Sources said the BJP leadership has decided to accommodate two Brahmin faces in the cabinet — Nitish Mishra and Mithilesh Tiwari.

However, according to BJP sources, senior leader Mangal Pandey is unlikely to be inducted into the new cabinet.

SUSPENSE OVER RLM REPRESENTATION

Uncertainty continued late into the night over representation from Upendra Kushwaha’s Rashtriya Lok Morcha (RLM). Sources said Kushwaha held discussions with Amit Shah till late Wednesday evening.

Deepak Prakash, son of Upendra Kushwaha, is likely to be inducted from the RLM quota. He had also served as a minister in the previous Nitish Kumar cabinet despite not being a member of either House.

AMIT SHAH IN PATNA

Union Home Minister Amit Shah arrived in Patna on Wednesday evening and was received at the airport by Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary. Shah later visited the Panchroopi Hanuman temple in Rajbansi Nagar before heading to a hotel for meetings with BJP and NDA leaders.

BJP national president Nitin Nabin and BJP national general secretary (organisation) BL Santhosh were also present during Shah’s temple visit.

The cabinet expansion is being seen as a major political show of strength for the BJP after Samrat Choudhary became the first BJP chief minister of Bihar last month.

Apart from PM Narendra Modi and Amit Shah, Union ministers Rajnath Singh, Jagat Prakash Nadda, Chirag Paswan and several NDA chief ministers are expected to attend the grand event at Gandhi Maidan.

- Ends
(Inputs by Rohit Singh and Sujit Jha)