Patna, Nov 19: JD(U) supremo Nitish Kumar is set to be sworn-in as Bihar chief minister for a record 10th time on Thursday, days after the NDA secured a landslide victory in the assembly elections.
Preparations for the swearing-in ceremony at Patna’s historic Gandhi Maidan are in the final stages, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, and several top NDA leaders expected to attend.
Apart from the main stage, several pandals have also been erected to accommodate VIPs.
Elaborate security arrangements have been put in place, and over three lakh people are anticipated at the event, a senior BJP leader said.
Kumar submitted his resignation as the outgoing CM to Governor Arif Mohammad Khan on Wednesday.
He was accompanied by Union minister Chirag Paswan, RLM chief Upendra Kushwaha and Uttar Pradesh Deputy CM Keshav Prasad Maurya.
State BJP chief Dilip Jaiswal told reporters that the governor accepted his resignation and asked him to continue as caretaker CM till a new government was formed.
Kumar was elected leader of the NDA legislature party following meetings of newly elected MLAs, where senior leader Samrat Choudhary was chosen as the BJP legislature party leader and Vijay Kumar Sinha as the deputy leader.
Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya, who was appointed as the central observer for the election of the legislature party leader in Bihar by the BJP, was present at the meeting.
Besides, Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal and former Union Minister Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti, who were made co-observers for the election process of the legislature party leader, were also present.
Meanwhile, lobbying among NDA allies to finalise cabinet berths continued throughout the day.
The new Bihar Cabinet is expected to include 16 ministers from the BJP and 14 from JD(U), including the party chief.
Sources said consensus has been reached among NDA partners to appoint BJP’s Prem Kumar as the Assembly Speaker. The Deputy Speaker’s post is likely to go to JD(U).
Sources said the new Cabinet will have five to six new faces from the main constituents of the NDA — the BJP and the JD(U).
Umesh Singh Kushwaha, JD(U) state chief who won from Mahnar assembly seat, is likely to be inducted in the new Cabinet.
While JD(U) is likely set to retain its current ministers, BJP may bring in a few new faces.
Smaller allies — LJP(RV) led by Union Minister Chirag Paswan, HAM-S led by Jitan Ram Manjhi, and RLM led by Upendra Kushwaha — will also get representation.
“The LJP (RV) is likely to get three berths in the new state cabinet while the HAM-S and RLM one berth each. A maximum of 16 ministers from the BJP and 14 ministers, along with CM Nitish Kumar from JD(U), will take oath on November 20”, sources said.
JD(U) leaders likely to be part of the new Cabinet include Bijendra Prasad Yadav, Vijay Kumar Choudhary, Shrowan Kumar, Sunil Kumar, Lesi Singh, Sheila Mandal, Madan Sahni, Ratnesh Sada, Mohammad Zama Khan, Jayant Raj, Umesh Singh Kushwaha, and Ashok Chowdhary.
Other probable inductees from JD(U) are Rahul Kumar Singh, Sudhanshu Shekhar, Kaladhar Prasad Mandal, and Panna Lal Singh Patel, sources said.
BJP sources said most ministers from the outgoing Cabinet will be retained, with the party considering three new faces.
Those likely to continue include Samrat Choudhary, Prem Kumar, Mangal Pandey, Vijay Kumar Sinha, Nitish Mishra, Renu Devi, Jibesh Kumar, Neeraj Kumar Singh, Janak Ram, Hari Sahni, Kedar Prasad Gupta, Surendra Mehta, Santosh Kumar Singh, Sunil Kumar, and Motil Lal Prasad.
Potential new faces from BJP include former IPS officer Anand Mishra (elected from Buxar), Rana Randhir, Gayatri Devi, and Vijay Kumar Khemka, sources said.
“We are aiming for greater representation in the new cabinet,” a JD(U) leader said.
In the outgoing government, the BJP had 15 ministers, JD(U) 12 including CM Nitish Kumar, Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) had one, and one minister who was an Independent candidate.
“Given that our MLA count has risen sharply since 2020, when we had fewer than 50, we expect more berths this time, a JD(U) leader said.
The NDA stormed back to power in Bihar, winning 202 seats in the 243-member assembly, with BJP bagging 89, JD(U) 85, LJP(RV) 19, HAM 5 and RLM 4. (PTI)
