Hectic parleys on for key Speaker, Deputy chief minister posts ahead of Bihar govt swearing-in

New Delhi: With consensus among the NDA partners that Nitish Kumar will once again be the chief minister of Bihar, all eyes are now on the Speaker’s post. BJP leaders said that they are keen on sticking to the formula of the last government, where the JD(U) parted with the Speaker’s post for the BJP.

With former Speaker Nand Kishore not in contention after the party denied him a ticket, there is speculation on who will take over the crucial post. Some of the names doing rounds are that of deputy chief minister Vijay Kumar Sinha, who has served as Speaker in the past and senior leader Mangal Pandey.

BJP leaders said that the party leadership has been holding meetings to deliberate on the names of ministers as well as the Speaker, and decisions will be taken ahead of the swearing-in, which will be held on November 20. The BJP is likely to get 15 ministerial berths, the leader said.

“Finding 15 ministers as well as a Speaker from 90 elected leaders is not easy; but the party is under no compulsion after the results,” a leader from the state said. The leader, however, added that the BJP is keen on having some Yadav faces as ministers to counter Tejashwi Yadav.

The party will also have at least one deputy chief minister face. There are reports that LJP-RV has demanded one deputy chief minister position as well as two-three ministerial posts. Some of the frontrunners for deputy CM are Ramkripal Yadav, Mangal Pandey, Rajnish Kumar and Nitin Naveen.

There is also the likelihood that the leadership opts for fresh faces for the key positions. In key states like Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha and Chhattisgarh, the party has gone with new faces for leadership positions.

Senior names that might not find a ministerial berth will be accommodated in assembly constituencies, said the leader. In the last assembly, BJP also held the Deputy Speaker’s post with senior leader Narendra Narayan Yadav.