Bihar Cabinet expansion a message for Nitish Kumar? 3 big takeaways

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. (File photo: PTI)

Seven MLAs of the Bharatiya Janata Party were inducted into the Nitish Kumar-led Bihar Cabinet on Wednesday. The development, in a poll year, comes with a distinct stamp of the party's focus on getting the caste calculations right as it heads into a challenging election later this year.

The list of new inductees in the Nitish Cabinet includes Sanjay Saraogi (Darbhanga), Sunil Kumar Singh (Biharsharif), Jibesh Kumar Mishra (Jale), Raju Kumar Singh (Sahebganj), Moti Lal Prasad (Riga), Vijay Kumar Mandal (Sikti) and Krishan Kumar Mantoo (Amnour).

Mantoo is a Kurmi while Vijay Kumar Mandal hails from the Kewat community, a Scheduled Caste in Bihar. Raju Singh is a Rajput, Jibesh Mishra a Bhumihar, Sunil Kumar a Kushwaha, Sanjay Saraogi from the Vasihya community, and Moti Lal Prasad, a Teli.
Prior to the Cabinet expansion, the Bihar Cabinet had 29 ministers and 7 vacancies (following Jaiswal's resignation). With an effective strength of 243, the government can have a maximum of 36 ministers including the CM. Wednesday's expansion leaves the Bihar Cabinet at full strength.

Ahead of the swearing-in of the new ministers, Dilip Jaiswal, who served as Revenue Minister in the Nitish government as well as president of the Bihar unit of the BJP, resigned from his post. Jaiswal said the state unit of the party would meet in Patna on March 4 to choose a new state president for the next three years.

The overhaul being undertaken by the BJP in Bihar assumes significance in view of the polls scheduled to be held in October-November this year. Possibly the last Cabinet expansion ahead of polls, the BJP has attempted to strengthen its caste calculations as it eyes winning 200 seats (NDA) in the 243-member Bihar Assembly.

However, getting the social engineering right isn't the only message that emerges from this exercise. The overhaul, while attempting to set the caste balance right within the NDA, also seeks to expand the BJP's influence in a state where it is dependent on JD(U) to stay in power.

Having bagged more seats than the JD(U) in the 2020 elections, the induction of seven BJP MLAs as ministers also serves as a message within the ruling alliance. Prior to the expansion, there were rumours that 2 JD(U) MLAs could make it to the list. But, the BJP appears to have had its way by keeping all seven ministerial berths for itself.

The induction of the seven BJP MLAs in the Nitish Cabinet has taken the saffron party's tally of ministers in the state to 21 against JD(U)'s 13. Both deputy chief ministers of Bihar are also from the BJP. Of the NDA's tally of 128 in the state Assembly, the BJP has 80 MLAs, the JD(U) has 44 while the HAM has 4 MLAs.

If it is any solace, by showing a big heart and giving away all 7 ministerial berths to the BJP, Nitish may have cemented his position as the NDA's face in Bihar, and its sole chief ministerial contender.