The NDA staged a major political show in Patna as several leaders, including Nishant Kumar, joined the expanded Bihar cabinet led by Samrat Choudhary.
Newly inducted ministers attend the Bihar cabinet expansion ceremony led by Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary at Gandhi Maidan in Patna on Thursday. (IANS)
Patna witnessed a high-profile political show on Thursday as former Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar’s son Nishant Kumar was inducted into the Bihar cabinet during a major expansion exercise led by Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary.
The cabinet expansion, held at Gandhi Maidan in Patna, drew top NDA leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, underlining the political significance of the reshuffle months after the NDA’s sweeping victory in the Bihar Assembly elections. The induction of Nishant Kumar also marked a key political moment for the Janata Dal (United), with fresh speculation over the party’s next generation of leadership.
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Ministers from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Janata Dal (United) and other NDA allies took oath as part of the expansion of the Samrat Choudhary-led government.
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A total of 32 leaders from the NDA alliance were sworn in as ministers during the expansion, which also turned into a major show of strength for the ruling coalition, with thousands of supporters gathering at Gandhi Maidan.
Several leaders took the oath as ministers in the Bihar government. Among them were Ram Kripal Yadav, Sanjay Singh (Tiger), Nitish Mishra, Damodar Rawat, Vijay Kumar Sinha, Dilip Kumar Jaiswal, Ashok Choudhary, Shrawon Kumar, Nishant Kumar and Leshi Singh.
The BJP inducted several first-time ministers, including Mithilesh Tiwari, Ramchandra Paswan, Nand Kishore Ram and Engineer Shailendra, while the JD(U) brought in new faces such as Bulo Mandal and Shweta Gupta alongside Nishant Kumar.
Earlier in the day, Nitish Kumar arrived in Patna along with Nishant Kumar and Union Minister Rajiv Ranjan Singh, also known as Lalan Singh, ahead of the oath-taking ceremony.
According to Nishant Kumar’s team, five new ministers, including Nishant Kumar, Damodar Rawat, Bulo Mandal, Bhagwan Singh and Shweta Gupta, were expected to take oath during the expansion.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah was also seen meeting Nishant Kumar during the ceremony before the latter’s induction into the cabinet.
The expansion comes months after the NDA secured a landslide victory in Bihar, winning 202 of the 243 Assembly seats and returning to power with a three-fourths majority.
Within the alliance, the BJP won 89 seats, while the JD(U) secured 85. Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) won 19 seats, Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) bagged five, and Rashtriya Lok Morcha secured four seats.
Among the opposition parties, the Rashtriya Janata Dal won 25 seats, followed by the Congress with six seats. AIMIM secured five seats.
The new cabinet reflects the NDA’s attempt to maintain caste and social balance ahead of future political battles in the state. The expanded ministry includes representation from Extremely Backward Classes, OBC, Dalit and upper-caste communities, along with one Muslim minister.
The cabinet also includes five women ministers, with JD(U) accounting for three of them. The inclusion of Shweta Gupta is being seen as part of the alliance’s push to increase women’s representation in the government.
Reacting to the expansion, JDU MLA Bhagwan Singh Kushwaha said the new ministers would work diligently under Samrat Choudhary’s leadership.
“Responsibilities will be discharged diligently… Under Samrat Choudhary’s leadership, excellent work will be done,” Kushwaha said.
Union Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi described the development as an important moment for Bihar and praised Nitish Kumar’s political decision-making.
“This is Bihar, and the NDA has been the ruling government here. Good work has been accomplished. There was a general apprehension among many that Nitish Kumar might not step down from his post; however, he demonstrated immense magnanimity by doing so,” Manjhi said.
After attending the swearing-in ceremony at Gandhi Maidan, Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a roadshow in Patna.
The cabinet expansion also comes amid a major political transition in Bihar following Nitish Kumar’s resignation from the chief minister’s post earlier this year and Samrat Choudhary taking charge as the state’s first BJP chief minister.
To balance coalition dynamics, JD(U) leaders Vijay Kumar Choudhary and Bijendra Prasad Yadav had earlier been sworn in as deputy chief ministers in the new government.
Earlier, Samrat Choudhary had comfortably won the trust vote in the 243-member Bihar Assembly, reaffirming the NDA alliance’s majority in the House.
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