Bihar News highlights: Tejashwi gets health, urban & rural development portfolios; Nitish keeps home, cabinet secretariat

The newly formed cabinet in Bihar expanded on Tuesday when 31 ministers took oath, with the RJD getting a lion’s share, and care having been taken to represent all sections of the society, including the minorities. Among the ministers who took oath, 16 were from RJD, 11 from Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s JD(U), two from Congress, one from ex-CM Jitan Ram Manjhi’s Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) and one Independent.

Full list of portfolios

Bihar Deputy CM Tejashwi gets health, road construction, urban development, housing & rural development; Bihar CM Nitish Kumar keeps home, general administration, cabinet secretariat in 'Mahagathbandhan' govt

Full list of Cabinet ministers under Mahagathbandhan 2.0.: 16 from RJD, 11 from JD(U)

JD(U) (11)
Vijay Kumar Chaudhary,
Bijendra Yadav (both JDU),
Shravan Kumar,
Ashok Choudhary,
Leshi Singh
Sheela Kumari,
Sunil Kumar
Sanjay Jha,
Madan Sahni
Mohd Zama Khan,
Jayant Raj

RJD (16)
Tej Pratap Yadav,
Alok Mehta
Surendra Prasad Yadav and
Ramanand Yadav
Samir Kumar Mahaseth,
Chandrashekhar
Kumar Sarvajeet,
Lalit Yadav
Jitendra Kumar Rai,
Anita Devi and
Sudhakar Singh
Mohammad Israil Mansuri
Surendra Ram
Kartikeya Singh
Shahnawaz Alam
Shamim Ahmed

Congress (2)
Afaque Alam
Murari Prasad Gautam

Independent
Sumit Kumar Singh

HAM
Santosh Kumar Suman

Israel Mansuri, Surendra Ram, Kartikeya Singh, Shahnawaz Alam, Shamim Ahmed (all RJD) and Murari Gautam (Congress) take oath in final round of Bihar cabinet expansion

Mohd Zama Khan, Jayant Raj (both JDU), Jitendra Kumar Rai, Anita Devi and Sudhakar Singh (all RJD) take oath

So far, 20 ministers sworn in: 9 from JD(U), 8 from RJD, 1 each from Congress, HAM and 1 Independent

JD(U)
Vijay Kumar Chaudhary,
Bijendra Yadav
Shravan Kumar,
Ashok Choudhary,
Leshi Singh
Sheela Kumari,
Sunil Kumar
Sanjay Jha,
Madan Sahni

RJD
Tej Pratap Yadav,
Alok Mehta (both RJD
Surendra Prasad Yadav and
Ramanand Yadav
Samir Kumar Mahaseth,
Chandrashekhar
Kumar Sarvajeet,
Lalit Yadav

Afaque Alam (Congress)

Sumit Kumar Singh (Independent)

Santosh Kumar Suman (HAM)

Sheela Kumari, Sunil Kumar (both JDU), Samir Kumar Mahaseth, Chandrashekhar (both RJD) and Sumit Kumar Singh (Independent) take oath

Sanjay Jha, Madan Sahni (both JDU), Kumar Sarvajeet, Lalit Yadav (both RJD) and Santosh Kumar Suman (HAM) take oath in third batch

JD(U) MLA Madan Sahni, RJD MLA Lalit Kumar Yadav and others take oath as ministers in the Bihar cabinet.

Shravan Kumar, Ashok Choudhary, Leshi Singh (all JDU), Surendra Prasad Yadav and Ramanand Yadav (both RJD) take oath in second batch of Bihar cabinet expansion

Five sworn in as cabinet ministers in 'Mahagathbandhan' govt in Bihar, including Vijay Kumar Chaudhary, Tej Pratap Yadav and Alok Mehta

RJD leader Tej Pratap Yadav and four other MLAs take oath as ministers, at Raj Bhawan in Patna

Ministers to take oath in batches; All gathered in Raj Bhawan at present

Oath-taking by new ministers under way

Union BJP Core Committee meeting: Ministers Ashwini Choubey, Giriraj Singh and Nityanand Rai, and the party's senior leaders Ravi Shankar Prasad and Sushil Modi – all of whom are from Bihar – are expected to attend the meeting

The BJP's central leadership will hold a meeting with the party's Bihar unit leaders here on Tuesday, days after the JD(U) parted ways with it and formed a new government in the state.

The Bihar accord: Will Congress concede leadership for 2024?

For the United Progressive Alliance or whatever remains of it, Nitish Kumar brings three things to the table. As a central minister and as chief minister of Bihar, he has over two decades of administrative experience. Personally, he has never been mired in any corruption controversy.

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I thank the CM for giving me a berth in his cabinet and making a worker like me, a minister. I also thank the people who have brought me here. Mahagathbandhan Govt will raise the pace of development: Leshi Singh

Hindustani Awam Morcha's Santosh Suman is also likely to return as a minister. The party, founded by his father and former CM Jitan Ram Manhi, has four MLAs and it had quit the NDA expressing solidarity with Nitish Kumar.

The lone Independent Sumit Kumar Singh, whose late father Narendra Singh was an old associate of the chief minister, had been made a minister in the previous government and he is also likely to be sworn in on Tuesday.

The JD(U) is likely to retain most of its ministers in the previous NDA government including Vijay Kumar Chaudhary, Ashok Choudhary, Bijendra Yadav, Shravan Kumar and Leshi Singh.

It may drop a few who may have been deemed to be close to the BJP and former JD(U) president RCP Singh, accused of trying to split the party at the ex-ally's behest.

Bihar BJP Core Committee today expected to discuss selection of a new Bihar BJP president, selection of LoP in Assembly & the Legislative Council & head of the legislature party.

A decision on the above is expected before the start of Bihar Assembly session from Aug 24:

Nitish Kumar will take Bihar to new heights & it's the demand of the nation that he lead the country, lead Opposition in the country: Leshi Singh, JD(U) MLA

It's not just people who will join the cabinet, every worker & MLA of RJD is a part of it - they may not join under their names but there will be everyone's participation. The entire cabinet reflects Bihar's interest, you will see that: Manoj Jha, RJD MP

This entire Mahagathbandhan, and now Nitish Kumar has come (into the alliance), so the map of 2024 is clear up to a great extent: RDJ's Manoj Jha when asked if 2024 elections kept in mind while deciding the new Cabinet

Afaque Alam and Murari Gautam have been handpicked as part of the party's strategy to back a Muslim and a Dalit.

Earlier, the names of Shakil Ahmed Khan, an AICC secretary and one of the most vocal MLAs, besides Rajesh Ram, were doing the rounds.

Congress' state in-charge Bhakt Charan Das has said that the party is tipped to get three ministerial berths, two of which will be filled on Tuesday.

An in-principle agreement has been reached that the RJD, which is the largest party in the state assembly, will have a lion's share of ministerial berths, followed by Kumar's JD(U).

30 members will be inducted from different constituents of the 'Mahagathbandhan' or the Grand Alliance

Among the invitees could be RJD supremo Lalu Prasad who was expected to arrive here on Monday night though party sources now claim he will be arriving on Tuesday by a morning flight.

The state cabinet can have up to 36 ministers, including the chief minister. The induction of ministers on Tuesday is expected to keep a few berths vacant for future expansion.

Kumar Sarwajeet, Alok Mehta, Samir Kumar Mahaseth likely to get Cabinet berths as well.

Alok Mehta, a Kushwaha leader in the RJD, is also likely to get a seat in the cabinet of Nitish Kumar. Mehta currently holds the post of national general secretary in the party.

Kumar Sarwajeet, a youth leader, representing Bodh Gaya assembly constituency, is considered as a core member of Tejashwi Yadav's team. He may also get the cabinet berth in Nitish Kumar government.

Also, Samir Kumar Mahaseth, who represents Mithilanchal region, is a Dalit face in the party. He may take oath in Raj Bhawan as well.

Tej Pratap Yadav, the elder son of Lalu Prasad, and "an unchallenged MLA" would also take oath on August 16.

Who is likely to get a Cabinet berth in Bihar?

Madhepura MLA and Yadav leader Chandrashekher Yadav could be selected for the cabinet and he is most likely to take oath in the Raj Bhawan.

Mohammad Shahnawaz, a Muslim leader who represents the Seemanchal area, and recently joined the RJD after leaving the AIMIM, would be also included in the cabinet.