Bihar’s New Cabinet: Nitish Kumar’s 10th Term and the Ministers’ Lineup
The Bihar oath-taking ceremony marked a historic moment as Nitish Kumar, the Chief Minister, took his 10th oath, solidifying his record-breaking tenure. Accompanying him were his two deputies, Samrat Chaudhary and Vijay Kumar Sinha, who were sworn in as Bihar’s Deputy Chief Ministers. This grand ceremony at Patna’s Gandhi Maidan witnessed the swearing-in of 24 ministers, including MLAs from the BJP, JD(U), RLJP, and HAM.
The BJP secured 14 ministerial positions, JD(U) obtained 9, LJP(Ram Vilas) claimed 2, and HAM and RLM each received 1. A significant challenge for Kumar lies in allocating Cabinet berths to his JD(U) and its allies, with portfolios to be assigned to the ministers at a later date.
The ministers who took oath today include:
- Vijay Kumar Chaudhary (JDU)
- Vijendra Kumar Yadav (JDU)
- Shravan Kumar (JDU)
- Mangal Pandey (BJP)
- Dilip Kumar Jaiswal (BJP)
- Leshi Singh (JDU)
- Ashok Chaudhary (JDU)
- Madan Sahni (JDU)
- Nitin Nabin (BJP)
- Ram Kripal Yadav (BJP)
- Santosh Kumar Suman (HAM)
- Sunil Kumar (JDU)
- Mohd Zama Khan (JDU)
- Sanjay Singh Tiger (BJP)
- Arun Shankar Prasad (BJP)
- Surendra Mehta (BJP)
- Narayan Prasad (BJP)
- Rama Nishad (BJP)
- Lakhendra Kumar Raushan (BJP)
- Shreyashi Singh (BJP)
- Pramod Kumar (BJP)
- Sanjay Kumar (LJP(RV))
- Sanjay Kumar Singh (LJP(RV))
- Deepak Prakash (RLM)
The Bihar Governor, Arif Mohommad Khan, administered the oath of office to these ministers. The new government’s performance will be closely monitored, especially regarding the NDA’s pre-poll promises, such as job creation, skill development, education reforms, and infrastructure development.
The people of Bihar eagerly anticipate the fulfillment of these promises, with a focus on the government’s ability to address unemployment, improve education, and enhance connectivity through expressways and railway tracks.