Bihar cabinet expansion: Seven new ministers from BJP take oath months ahead of Assembly polls

This is the second cabinet expansion, following the first in March 2024.

Months before the Bihar Assembly election, the Nitish Kumar government on Wednesday decided to expand his cabinet with the induction of seven new ministers. All seven are from the Bharatiya Janata Party. This is the second cabinet expansion, following the first in March 2024, just before the Lok Sabha election announcement, when 21 ministers were inducted.

The current strength of the Bihar Cabinet is 30, with 15 BJP ministers, 13 JD(U), one from the Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) and an Independent. Six seats remain vacant.

However, media reports suggest that their tenure may last only eight to nine months if elections are held as scheduled in October-November. The expansion, ahead of the all-important Assembly polls, is being seen as an effort to bring in more faces to the government for broader representation.

According to an official communique, the seven MLAs who will join Nitish Kumar's Cabinet are Sanjay Saraogi (Darbhanga), Sunil Kumar (Biharsharif), Jibesh Kumar (Jale), Rahu Kumar Singh (Sahebganj), Moti Lal Prasad (Riga), Vijay Kumar Mandal (Sikti) and Krishan Kumar Mantoo (Amnour).

Earlier in the day, BJP's state President Dilip Jaiswal announced his decision to resign as Revenue Minister. Speaking to news agency ANI, Jaiswal said, "I am going to resign from the post of Revenue Minister. 'One person, one post' is the principle on which the party works. I am thankful that the central leadership has given me the responsibility of the party's state unit. Cabinet expansion is the prerogative of the chief minister.'

Additionally, the developments in state politics is only getting interesting with speculation over Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar’s son Nishant Kumar joining politics getting intense day by day as he asserted that NDA should declare his father as CM face for the Bihar assembly election due in October-November this year.

Meanwhile, JD(U) MLC and chief spokesperson Neeraj Kumar said that the demand for Nishant’s entry into politics has been made by his maternal uncle and other relatives as they have immense love and affection for him (Nishant). But a final decision on the matter has to be taken by Nitish Kumar.