The expansion of the Bihar cabinet is going to happen on Tuesday, 16 August. It is more likely that the alliance partner Rashtriya Janata Dal is likely to get a large number of portfolios. The ceremony will take place at the Raj Bhavan in Patna at around 11:30 am.
The newly formed “Mahagathbandhan” government will be expanded almost a week after Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar broke the BJP-led alliance and formed a new government with the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and the Congress.
There were several meetings held between the allies of the Grand Alliance before the cabinet expansion. There can be a maximum of 36 ministers in the Bihar cabinet. Meanwhile, the Nitish Kumar-led new Grand Alliance government in Bihar will conduct a floor test on August 24 to prove its majority in the state assembly.
With an effective strength of 242 in the Bihar Assembly, BJP has 77, JD(U) 45, Jitan Ram Manjhi’s HAM(S) 4, RJD 79, Congress 19, CPI(ML) 12, CPI 4. While AIMIM and independents have one seat each.
Moreover, the combined strength of the JDU-RJD-Hum-Congress-CPI(M-L)-CPI grand alliance is 163. The lone independent MLA has also vowed to support Nitish Kumar, taking his effective strength to 164. Nitish Kumar took oath as the chief minister for the eighth time on Wednesday after resigning from the post a day earlier and quitting the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance.
Earlier, RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav took oath as the Deputy Chief Minister. The decision to hold a floor test on August 24 and make a suitable recommendation for convening the state assembly was taken at a cabinet meeting of Kumar and Yadav on Wednesday. Sources said that the RJD will have more ministers than the Janata Dal-United.
However, Nitish Kumar broke his alliance with the BJP for the second time in eight years on Tuesday. The Mahagathbandhan also has the support of the HAM, which has four MLAs in the assembly.