Bihar CM Nitish Kumar likely to expand his cabinet today, here’s full list of potential ministers

Patna: As Bihar gears up for a cabinet expansion, anticipated changes within the government structure have sparked anticipation. The cabinet expansion, initially scheduled for March 14, was postponed as the BJP quota ministers’ names remained unsettled.  

In Bihar, there can be 36 ministers in the cabinet, so 27 leaders can be part of it. Currently, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar heads a cabinet of nine ministers, including two Deputy CMs, Samrat Chaudhary and Vijay Sinha, from the BJP quota, who were sworn in on January 28. 

JD(U) quota ministers

Of the nine ministers to be included in the cabinet from the Janata Dal United (JDU) quota, eight had served in the previous coalition government with the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and Congress. The sole change in the JD(U) quota will see Maheshwar Hazari replacing Sanjay Jha.

Sanjay Jha is now a Rajya Sabha MP and will focus on politics in Delhi. Nitish Kumar wanted to send a trusted leader to Delhi, so he picked Sanjay Jha. Before this change, Sanjay Jha was a minister in Bihar handling water resources. Hazari, who comes from the Dalit community, has also been the Deputy Speaker in the Bihar Legislative Assembly.

Inclusion of Scheduled Caste leaders

Four JD (U) leaders from the Scheduled Caste are set to join the cabinet. Ashok Chaudhary, known for his close association with CM Nitish Kumar and his advocacy for the Dalit community, assumes a ministerial role. Former IPS officer Sunil Kumar and Ratnesh Sada, both hailing from the Dalit community, also secured ministerial berths.

Returning ministers and new additions

Five returning JD(U) leaders, including veteran MLA Lacey Singh, are set to resume their ministerial duties. Additionally, Madan Sahni, representing Bahadurpur in Darbhanga, and Jayant Raj from Amarpur in Banka district, are expected to join the cabinet. Sheela Mandal is poised to become the second woman minister from the JD(U) quota, while Mohammad Zaman Khan could potentially be the only Muslim minister in Nitish Kumar’s government.

Ministers from BJP

BJP leaders Mangal Pandey, Nitin Naveen, Nitish Mishra, Jivesh Mishra, Hari Sahani, Janak Ram, Brajkishore Bind, Janak Singh, Samrat Chaudhary, Vijay Sinha, Prem Kumar and Santosh Manjhi would also join Nitish Kumar’s cabinet.