PATNA: Chief Minister Nitish Kumar expanded his new cabinet on Tuesday by inducting 31 new ministers, including a huge contingent of 16 from key ally RJD, 11 from JD (U), two from Congress, one from Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) and an Independent taking care to give due representation to all sections of society, including minorities.
RJD sought to keep the confidence of its core voters intact by making seven ministers from Yadav community and one from Muslim community. Like JD (U), RJD also made two Dalits ministers in the new cabinet.
Bihar Governor Phagu Chauhan administered the oath of office and secrecy at a simple function at Rajendra Mandapam in Raj Bhawan on Tuesday.
Bihar Chief Minister and JD(U) leader Nitish Kumar maintained his faith in his old team of party. Those who were administered from the JD (U) quota are Vijay Kumar Choudhary, Bijendra Prasad Yadav, Sanjay Kumar Jha, Ashok Choudhary, Sharavan Kumar, Jama Khan, Sheela Kumari, Sunil Kumar, Jayant Raj, Leshi Singh and Madan Sahni.
From RJD quota, party chief Lalu Prasad's elder son Tej Pratap Yadav who was the state health minister in the previous grand alliance government, Surendra Yadav, Lalit Yadav, Kumar Sarvjeet, Prof Chandrashakhar, Ramanand Yadav, Shahnabaz Alam, Sameer Mahaseth, Anita Devi, Jayant Raj, Sudhakar Singh (son of Bihar RJD president Jadanand Singh) took oath as ministers.
Others who took oath from the RJD camp were Jitendra Rai and Kartikeya Singh, Ismyl Mansuri, Jitendra Singh and Surendra Ram.
Congress MLAs, Afaq and Murai Prasad Gautam were also inducted into the cabinet coming as a surprise for many in the old grand party and also creating resentment among leaders who were in the race.
Santosh Suman from Hindustani Awam Morcha led by his father Jitan Ram Manjhi and an Independent MLA Sumit Kumar Singh were also inducted into the state cabinet. Among 31 ministers, three of them are women - Leshi Singh Sheela Kumari and Anita Devi.
Nitish Kumar and RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav were sworn in as chief minister and deputy CM last Wednesday. Nitish had taken oath as CM for record eighth time.
The new cabinet, predictably, has a sizeable number of Yadavs and Muslims, though members of other sections of the society also find a place.
Three of the ministers are women, Sheela Kumari and Leshi Singh (both JDU) and Anita Devi (RJD).
There are altogether seven Yadavs from RJD, including the two sons of Lalu Prasad, besides Bijendra Yadav of the JD(U).
Others from the populous caste group in Bihar include Lalit Yadav, Surendra Prasad, Chandrashekhar, Ramanand Yadav and Jitendra Kumar Rai.
There are five Muslims, Zama Khan (JDU), Mohd Afaque Alam (Congress) and Mohd Shamim, Mohd Israil Mansuri and Shahnawaz Alam (all RJD).
Comparatively, the last Nitish Kumar cabinet in alliance with BJP, had as Muslim representation Senior BJP leader Syed Shahnawaz Hussain besides Zama Khan.
The sizeable number of Muslims and Yadavs, apparently, led BJP national spokesman Sanjay Mayukh to allege "this is not a cabinet headed by Nitish Kumar. It bears the imprint of Tejashwi Yadav. We will expose the inherent contradictions of this opportunistic alliance".
Although a pro-OBC bias was expected in the alliance dominated by RJD and JD(U), both owing their rise to the Mandal agitation, members of the upper castes also find a place.
While Vijay Kumar Chaudhary and RJD debutant Kartikeya Singh are Bhumihars, Leshi Singh (JDU), Sumit Kumar Singh (Indpendent) and Sudhakar Singh (RJD) are Rajputs.
Sanjay Kumar Jha of JD(U) is represntative of the Brahmins.
Five Dalits, Ashok Choudhary (JDU), Kumar Sarvajeet and Surendra Ram (RJD), Murari Gautam (Congress) and Santosh Kumar Suman (HAM) have been included in the new cabinet.
Others who took oath include the CM's close aide Shravan Kumar, who belongs to the same Kurmi caste and Nalanda district, Madan Sahni and Jayant Raj.
BJP president Sanjay Jaiswal came out with a Facebook post ruing "a decline in the representation of extremely backward classes, from six to only three".
There was a buzz that Awadh Bihari Chaudhary, a veteran RJD leader who was initially expected to be inducted in the ministry, may now be considered for the post of the Speaker.
"I have received no such intimation. But if I am assigned the responsibility, I will discharge my duties to the best of my abilities," said Chaudhary, who was present at the Raj Bhavan.
The 'Mahagathbandhan', comprising the RJD, JD(U), Congress and the Left, has moved a no-confidence motion against Speaker Vijay Kumar Sinha, who belongs to the BJP.
All the ministers from the JD(U), besides HAM's Santosh Kumar Suman and Independent Sumit Kumar Singh, were members in the previous government.
The Left is supporting the government from the outside.
Earlier today, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar reached the Raj Bhavan in Patna for the swearing-in ceremony.
Ahead of the Cabinet expansion, JDU(U) MLA Leshi Singh on Tuesday confirmed that she will be getting a post in the new cabinet.
Vijay Kumar Chaudhary, Bijendra Yadav (both JDU), Tej Pratap Yadav, Alok Mehta (both RJD) and Afaque Alam (Congress) took oath in the first batch of the Bihar cabinet expansion.
Shravan Kumar, Ashok Choudhary, Leshi Singh (all JDU), Surendra Prasad Yadav and Ramanand Yadav (both RJD) also took oath in the second batch of the expansion.
Sanjay Jha, Madan Sahni (both JDU), Kumar Sarvajeet, Lalit Yadav (both RJD) and Santosh Kumar Suman (HAM) took oath during the third batch of Bihar cabinet expansion.
Sheela Kumari, Sunil Kumar (both JDU), Samir Kumar Mahaseth, Chandrashekhar (both RJD) and Sumit Kumar Singh (Independent) also took oath in the following batch.
Mohd Zama Khan, Jayant Raj (both JDU), Jitendra Kumar Rai, Anita Devi and Sudhakar Singh (all RJD) take oath in fifth batch of Bihar cabinet expansion.
The Bihar cabinet can have up to 36 ministers, including the Chief Minister. Some ministerial berths will be kept vacant for future cabinet expansion, sources said.
Right after the cabinet expansion, Nitish Kumar said, "The portfolios will be allocated shortly. I will hold a meeting of the entire cabinet today once again."
Nitish Kumar had broken away from the BJP and formed a government with the RJD and other parties earlier this month. The Chief Minister and his deputy - RJD's Tejashwi Yadav - took oath on August 10.
The number of Muslims in the new cabinet is five, up from only one in the previous NDA government that fell last week after the chief minister severed ties with the BJP. The RJD has, predictably, given a significant number of seven berths to Yadavs.
It, however, also gave representation to the upper castes in keeping with the wider social outreach by deputy CM Tejashwi Yadav.
The BJP's central leadership will hold a meeting with the party's Bihar unit leaders here on Tuesday, days after the JD(U) parted ways with it and formed a new government in the state.
They are likely to deliberate upon the BJP's future course of action, and the strategy for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, sources said, adding organisational changes may also come up for discussion. The meeting will be chaired by BJP national president Jagat Prakash Nadda and the general secretary (organisation) BL Santhosh will also be present.
The 2020 Assembly polls in Bihar were a tight one with the National Democratic Alliance winning 125 seats, with BJP winning 74 of these, the Janata Dal (United) of Nitish Kumar 43, the Vikassheel Insaan Party 4 and Hindustan Awaam Party (Secular) 4. This put the NDA just above the requisite 122-majority mark needed to form the government.
The RJD and its allies, on the other hand, had won 110 seats. The RJD finished as the single-largest party with 75 seats, while the Congress won a mere 19 seats. Of the 29 seats the Left parties had contested, they won in 16, with the CPI (ML-Liberation) winning 12 of them. Asaduddin Owaisi's AIMIM had won five seats in the Seemanchal region of the state. Four of its MLAs have switched to the RJD.
Party-wise list of ministers in new Bihar cabinet: .
Nitish Kumar (JDU).
Tejashwi Yadav (RJD).
Vijay Kumar Chaudhary (JDU).
Bijendra Yadav (JDU).
Shravan Kumar (JDU).
Ashok Choudhary (JDU).
Leshi Singh (JDU).
Sanjay Jha (JDU).
Madan Sahni (JDU).
Sheela Kumari (JDU).
Sunil Kumar (JDU).
Mohd Zama Khan (JDU)
Jayant Raj (JDU).
Tej Pratap Yadav (RJD).
Alok Mehta (RJD).
Surendra Prasad Yadav (RJD).
Ramanand Yadav (RJD).
Kumar Sarvajeet (RJD) .
Lalit Yadav (RJD).
Samir Kumar Mahaseth (RJD).
Chandrashekhar (RJD).
Jitendra Kumar Rai (RJD).
Anita Devi (RJD).
Sudhakar Singh (RJD).
Md Israil Mansuri (RJD).
Surendra Ram (RJD).
Kartikeya Singh (RJD).
Shahnawaz Alam (RJD).
Shamim Ahmed (RJD).
Afaque Alam (Congress).
Murari Gautam (Congress).
Santosh Kumar Suman (HAM).
Sumit Kumar Singh (Independent) While Nitish Kumar and his deputy were sworn in five days ago on August 10, the remaining 31 ministers took their oath on Tuesday.
(With inputs from agencies)