Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has kept the crucial Home Department portfolio with himself and Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav has taken charge of the Health Department’s portfolio in the first Cabinet expansion of the newly formed Mahagathbandhan government in Bihar.
JD(U) leader Vijay Kumar Chaudhary got the Finance Department and RJD leader Tej Pratap Yadav was given charge of Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.
Of the 31 ministers sworn into the Bihar cabinet, 16 were from Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), 11 were from Nitish’s Janta Dal-United (JD-U), two were from Congress and one was from Hindustani Awam Morch (HAM) and one was an Independent lawmaker.
Shortly after the cabinet ministers were sworn in Chief Minister Nitish Kumar told reporters that the portfolios will be allocated soon to each minister and will hold a meeting in this regard.
The new ministers were administered the oath of office and secrecy by Bihar Governor Phagu Chauhan at Raj Bhavan here.
Two legislators from the Congress, one from Jitin Ram Manjhi’s Hindustani Awam Morcha and the lone Independent MLA, Sumit Kumar Singh, also took oath as cabinet ministers.
From RJD, Deputy chief minister Tejashwi Yadav’s brother Tej Pratap Yadav, Samir Kumar Mahaseth, Chandrashekhar, Kumar Sarvajeet, Lalit Yadav, Surendra Prasad Yadav, Ramanand Yadav, Jitendra Kumar Rai, Anita Devi and Sudhakar Singh and Alok Mehta took oath.
Congress legislators Afaque Alam and Murari Lal Gautam were inducted into the cabinet as ministers, while Hindustani Awam Morcha’s Santosh Suman was also sworn in.
The Bihar cabinet can have up to 36 ministers, including the Chief Minister. Some ministerial berths will be kept vacant for future cabinet expansion, sources said.
The Bihar Grand Alliance has a combined strength of 163. Its effective strength climbed to 164 after Independent MLA Sumit Kumar Singh extended its support to Nitish Kumar. The new government is likely to prove majority in the Bihar assembly on August 24.