Nitish leaves for Delhi, to hold talks with PM Modi

A day after expanding his Cabinet, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Wednesday left for New Delhi, where he is likely to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi. This will be the first meeting between the two leaders following the much-delayed Cabinet expansion in Bihar. However, their meeting will be a significant one as Nitish may seek proportional representation of the JD (U) in the Union Cabinet.

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Notably, Nitish had refused JD (U)’s participation in the Narendra Modi Government just hours before the latter took oath for the second time in May 2019. Nitish was then miffed with the offer of token representation of the JD (U) in the Union Cabinet with just one minister being asked to join the Government, although the JD (U) had won 16 of the 17 Lok Sabha seats it contested.

However, much water has flown since 2019. In fact, Nitish has been consistently weakened following JD (U)’s dismal performance in the November 2020 Bihar Assembly poll. His ‘big brother’ approach too has been put on the back-burner after the BJP insisted on two Deputy Chief Ministers, besides more ministers from the BJP compared to the JD (U) and the key portfolios.

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At present, the Nitish Government has 16 BJP members as ministers while 13 from the JD (U) and one each from smaller outfits like HAM and the VIP.

It is against this backdrop that Nitish would now like the JD (U) to join the Union Cabinet so that the regional outfit of Bihar could expand its base and keep its MPs in good humour.

“Nitish Ji may ask for proportional representation of the JD (U) in the Modi Government. If it fructifies, then the JD (U) may stake claim for two Cabinet and one Minister of State (MoS) berth in the Union Government,” said a ruling party source, on the condition of anonymity.