Bihar Cabinet Expansion: 7 new BJP MLAs inducted in Nitish Kumar government
With the expansion, the strength of the Nitish Kumar council of ministers has risen to 37 in which BJP’s share has increased from 16 to 22 while the JD-U has 13 ministers including the Chief Minister and one minister is from HIndustani Awam Morcha and another one is an independent.
Seven new faces, all from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), were inducted in Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s government on February 26 ahead of the assembly election scheduled later this year.
Governor Arif Mohammad Khan administered the oath of office and secrecy at a ceremony at the Raj Bhavan. Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, Deputy chief ministers Samrat Choudhary and Vijay Kumar Sinha and Assembly Speaker Nand Kishor Yadav and other ministers of the state government attended the ceremony.
The seven MLAs who joined Nitish Kumar’s Cabinet are Sanjay Saraogi (Darbhanga), Sunil Kumar (Bihar Sharif), Jibesh Kumar (Jale), Rahu Kumar Singh (Sahebganj), Moti Lal Prasad (Riga), Vijay Kumar Mandal (Sikti) and Krishan Kumar Mantoo (Amnour).
With the induction of new members, the total number of ministers in the Bihar government has increased to 36, the maximum allowed in the state, which has a 243-member assembly.
The expansion comes two days before the commencement of the Bihar Budget Session on Friday.
Meanwhile, Bihar BJP President Dilip Jaiswal on Wednesday announced to resign from the Nitish Kumar cabinet. He was holding the Department of Land Revenue.
With the expansion, the strength of the Nitish Kumar council of ministers has risen to 37 in which BJP’s share has increased from 16 to 22 while the JD-U has 13 ministers including the Chief Minister and one minister is from HIndustani Awam Morcha and another one is an independent.
On Tuesday, the BJP President J.P. Nadda and state in-charge Vinond Tawde had visited Patna and held a meeting with the state unit’s core committee to decide the way forward for the party.
Assembly election in Bihar are scheduled at the end of the 2025. A careful calculation of the BJP’s support base seems to have been at work in the cabinet expansion that took place a day after the party’s national president chaired a meeting of the “core group” in Patna.
The expansion highlights a careful calculation of the BJP’s support. Two of the new ministers, Jibesh Kumar (Bhumihar) and Raju Kumar Singh (Rajput), belong to the upper castes, which constitute just over 10 percent of Bihar’s population. Despite their relatively small demographic, these castes have consistently been among the BJP’s most loyal voters for decades.
Additionally, with the exception of Sunil Kumar, all hail from the region north of the Ganges, where the NDA has been performing better than the rival RJD, Congress and Left combine.
Meet the new ministers in Nitish Government
Jibesh Kumar Mishra
Jibesh Kumar Mishra is an MLA from Jale assembly constituency in Darbhanga. He was a minister till August 2022, when CM Nitish Kumar jumped ship accusing the BJP of trying to “break” JDU. Jibesh was minister of labour resources department.
Jibesh is from the Bhumihar community. He took his oath in the Maithili language.
Sunil Kumar
Sunil Kumar is an MLA from Bihar Sharif assembly constituency in Nalanda. Kumar was elected on JD(U) ticket thrice before crossing over to the BJP in 2015. He belongs to the Koeri caste
Raju Kumar Singh
Raju Kumar Singh represents Sahebganj in Muzaffarpur. Singh belongs to the Rajput caste. He was previously with the Vikassheel Insan Party (VIP) before joining the BJP.
The VIP had won altogether three seats but all the MLAs joined BJP two years ago after Sahni burnt his bridges with the saffron party, losing his cabinet berth in the bargain.
Krishna Kumar Mantu
Krishna Kumar Mantu, representing Amnour in Saran district, belongs to the Kurmi caste. He recently garnered attention for organising a significant ‘Kurmi Chetna Rally’ in Patna.
Vijay Kumar Mandal
Vijay Kumar Mandal, representing the Sikti assembly constituency in Araria district, is from the Kewat community, categorised under the extremely backward classes.
Motilal Prasad
Motilal Prasad is the MLA from Riga in Sitamarhi. Prasad is a member of the Vaishya community.
Sanjay Saraogi
Sanjay Saraogi is a five-term MLA from Darbhanga. Saraogi is a prominent leader in the Marwari community. Saraogi took his oath in Maithili.
