PATNA: Bihar Deputy Chief Minister and senior JD(U) leader Vijay Kumar Choudhary on Sunday said that a cabinet expansion would take place soon. “Everything will be clear soon,” he told the media.
Choudhary accompanied former Chief Minister Nitish Kumar during the latter’s visit to the JD(U) office in Patna. It was Nitish’s first visit to the party office after relinquishing the Chief Minister’s post on April 14.
Responding to a media query, the Deputy Chief Minister said that the government was already working on the issue.
On Saturday, Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary met his predecessor and JD(U) supremo Nitish Kumar, triggering speculation that the state cabinet would be expanded soon.
The Bihar cabinet is expected to be expanded after the declaration of the Assembly election results on May 4.
Although there was no official word on what transpired during the meeting, it is believed that the Chief Minister and Nitish Kumar discussed the imminent cabinet expansion. The meeting, held at 1, Anne Marg (the Chief Minister’s official residence), lasted around 20 minutes.
Union Minister and former JD(U) president Rajiv Ranjan Singh, also known as Lalan Singh, was present at the meeting.
Apart from Samrat Choudhary as Chief Minister, two senior JD(U) leaders—Vijay Kumar Choudhary and Bijendra Prasad Yadav—were sworn in as Deputy Chief Ministers on April 15.
In the cabinet expansion, some new faces are likely to be inducted. There is also speculation that JD(U) may bring in fresh talent with the aim of building a new “development team” for Bihar.
Legislators such as Ruhail Ranjan, Komal Singh, Rituraj, and Chetan Anand, all members of Nishant’s core group, are likely to be inducted into the cabinet.
The BJP may also give opportunities to new faces. With Nitin Nabin’s elevation as BJP national president, the party is undergoing a generational shift. BJP leaders acknowledge that Prime Minister Narendra Modi wants younger leaders to take the lead.
There is also speculation about whether former Deputy Chief Minister Vijay Kumar Sinha will be inducted. He may be made Assembly Speaker or given the post of state party president, sources said.
As senior BJP leader Prem Kumar currently holds the post of Assembly Speaker, he may continue in the role. The present state BJP president Sanjay Saraogi may be inducted into the cabinet, with Sinha likely to replace him.
Similarly, former IPS officer and Buxar MLA Anand Mishra may also be included in the cabinet. Sanjay Singh ‘Tiger’, Shreyasi Singh, Lakhendra Paswan, Rama Nishad, and Pramod Chandravanshi are also among the frontrunners.