After the hasty exit of the Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) from the Bihar government, several seats in the cabinet were left empty, which are set to be filled today. The Bihar cabinet expansion is scheduled to take place today with the appointment of new leaders at the state’s top posts.
Even though no names have been announced yet by the Mahagathbandhan government in Bihar, it is expected that the lion’s share of the ministries will be taken up by the RJD, while Nitish Kumar’s party will retain its existing seats in the cabinet.
According to the power-sharing formula agreed to by the grand alliance in the state, the RJD may get the lion’s share of 15 ministries, JD(U) 12 ministerial berths, and the Congress two in the Bihar cabinet expansion.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar-led JD(U) will be retaining most of its ministries in the cabinet and the RJD’s appointments reflect an attempt to move beyond the party’s Muslim-Yadav (MY) core constituency and match its “A to Z” slogan on the politics of assimilation.
The Bihar cabinet can have a maximum of 36 ministers, out of which RJD is expected to have the majority seats in the cabinet. It is also expected that 2 MLAs from Congress and one from Jitin Ram Manjhi's HAM (Hindustani Awam Morcha) will be taking oath today.
.
Bihar CM Nitish Kumar and Deputy CM Tejashwi Yadav took the oath for their posts under the newly-formed alliance on August 10. The cabinet expansion of Bihar will take place today, with the oath ceremony scheduled for August 16 at 11:30 am.
However, it is expected that JD(U) will retain its existing ministries such as Home, Vigilance, Education, Building Construction, Minority Affairs, Social Welfare, and Water Resources. Meanwhile, RJD is set to get ministries such as Finance, Commercial Taxes, Health, Road Construction, Disaster Management, and Environment and Forest.
From the RJD camp, the list of probable ministers includes Tej Pratap Yadav, Surendra Yadav, Ramanand Yadav, Bhai Virendra, Lalit Yadav, Anita Devi, Kumar Sarvjeet, Alok Mehta, Mohammed Shamim, Shahnawaz Alam, Sudhakar Singh, and Samir Mahaseth or Sanjay Gupta, reports The Indian Express.
READ | DNA Exclusive | Jungle raj, legacy of corruption, 1 million jobs: Why 'Nitish for PM in 2024' is easier said than done
