Bihar: 31 ministers to take oath today in cabinet expansion
Bihar Chief Minister (CM) Nitish Kumar will reportedly expand his current two-member cabinet on Tuesday, with alliance partner Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) receiving most seats. A total of 31 ministers, including members of the Congress and other Mahagathbandhan (Grand Alliance) parties, will be sworn into the cabinet, reported NDTV. The ceremony will take place at the Raj Bhavan in Patna at around 11:30 am.
Why does this story matter?
Last week, Kumar broke away from alliance partner Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) after being at loggerheads in the recent past over numerous issues and formed a coalition government with the RJD and other parties. The CM and his deputy, Tejashwi Yadav, took their oaths of office on August 10. To recall, Kumar abandoned the "Mahagathbandhan" government to join hands with the BJP in 2017.
How will cabinet berths be allotted?
The Bihar cabinet, including the CM, can have up to 36 ministers. As per reports, the RJD should bag the lion's share of cabinet berths—around 15 portfolios—as it is the single largest party in the Bihar Assembly. The JD(U), meanwhile, should retain all its posts and could add one more for ex-MoS Upendra Khushwaha to have 11-13 berths. Congress may be allotted two portfolios.
More details regarding the development
Kumar is expected to retain all JD(U) ministers, including Vijay Kumar Chaudhary, Ashok Choudhary, Sanjay Jha, Madan Sahni, Jayant Raj, Sheela Mandal, Bijendra Yadav, Shravan Kumar, Sunil Kumar, and Jama Khan. According to sources, some ministerial posts will be kept empty for future cabinet expansion. Sumit Kumar Singh, Mahagathbandhan's lone Independent MLA, is also expected to be inducted into the cabinet on Tuesday.
What about RJD and others?
According to reports, Tej Pratap Yadav, Surendra Yadav, Lalit Yadav, Kumar Sarvjeet, Surendra Ram, Shahnawaz Alam, Sameer Mahaseth, Bharat Mandal, Anita Devi, and Sudhakar Singh are the most likely RJD candidates to get for cabinet positions on Tuesday. Moreover, Afaque Alam and Murari Lal Gautam of Congress and Santosh Suman Manjhi of Jitan Ram Manjhi's Hindustani Awam Morcha will also reportedly be sworn in.
Kumar-Yadav to lead government, floor test likely next week
Kumar and Yadav took their respective oaths as the CM and deputy CM of Bihar on August 10. They will lead the "Mahagathbandhan 2.0" government, an alliance of bigwigs JD(U) and RJD, along with five other parties. Together, the alliance has over 164 MLAs in the Bihar Assembly, while the BJP has 77. Kumar is also expected to undergo a floor test next week.
This is a slap on BJP's face, said Yadav earlier
A day after taking oath as Bihar's deputy CM for the second time, Yadav alleged that the BJP is "vindictive" toward the opposition. "The slap the people of Bihar have given the BJP and the bold decision taken by Kumar has left them worried," he had told NDTV. He had further added the duo may have exchanged allegations but "belong to one family."
