PATNA: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will hold a roadshow in Patna on Thursday ahead of the expansion of the Samrat Choudhary government at the historic Gandhi Maidan.
Modi will be accompanied by former chief minister and JD(U) president Nitish Kumar, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP national president Nitin Nabin during the roadshow.
The roadshow will begin from Patna airport and conclude at Gandhi Maidan after passing through Harding Road, Beerchand Patel Path and the Income Tax roundabout.
From JD(U), Nitish Kumar’s son, Nishant Kumar, Shrawan Kumar, Madan Sahni, Leshi Singh, Bhagwan Singh Kushwaha, Damodar Rawat, Bulo Mandal, Sunil Kumar, Sheela Mandal, Ratnesh Sada and Jama Khan are expected to take oath as ministers under the party’s quota.
Shweta Gupta, a doctor by profession, is also likely to be inducted into the cabinet from the JD(U) camp. Nishant, who formally joined JD(U) on March 8, is presently not a member of either House of the state legislature.
Former deputy chief minister Vijay Kumar Sinha, Mangal Pandey, Sanjay Singh Tiger, Shreyasi Singh, Sanjeev Chourasia, Nitish Mishra and Krishna Kumar Mantu are likely to be inducted into the new cabinet from the BJP camp.
From LJP(RV), Sanjay Singh and Sanjay Paswan are likely to find a place in the cabinet. Deepak Prakash from Upendra Kushwaha’s Rashtriya Lok Morcha (RLM) and Santosh Kumar Suman from Jitan Ram Manjhi’s Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) are also likely to retain ministerial berths.
On April 15, Samrat Choudhary was sworn in as chief minister along with Vijay Kumar Chaudhar and Bijendra Prasad Yadav from JD(U) as deputy chief ministers.
Samrat Choudhary, who won the Assembly elections from Tarapur in Munger district, is the first BJP chief minister of Bihar.
There can be a maximum of 36 ministers in the 243 member state Assembly. Sources said JD(U) had sought 16 ministerial berths, including two deputy chief minister posts. However, a consensus was reportedly reached between BJP and JD(U) on the distribution of portfolios following the intervention of Amit Shah.