PATNA, Nov. 22 -- In a notable break from long-standing tradition, Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar has relinquished control of the influential home department to his deputy chief minister and BJP ally Samrat Choudhary, ending two decades of the JD(U) leader's direct oversight of the state's law and order framework. This shift, announced on Friday following the cabinet's oath-taking at Gandhi Maidan, highlights the BJP's assertive role in the NDA coalition. The 27-member cabinet, sworn in on Thursday amid fanfare with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Amit Shah and NDA chief ministers in attendance, comprises Kumar and 26 ministers from the coalition: 14 from BJP, eight from JD(U), two from LJP(RV), and one each from HAM(S) and RLM. Formed after the NDA's resounding victory in the Bihar elections, the setup balances caste equations, regional representation, and ministerial experience, though allocations for eight ministers remain pending. Kumar, marking his unprecedented 10th term as CM, maintains broad governance authority and holds the general administration department, which deals in transfer and posting of IAS officers. The BJP solidified its grip on administrative and fiscal levers, though JD(U) retained economic planning tools. Deputy CM Samrat Choudhary emerges as the second-most influential after Kumar with the home berth. His counterpart, deputy CM Vijay Kumar Sinha, handles revenue & land reforms along with mines & geology. Among JD(U) stalwarts, Vijay Kumar Chaudhary has been allocated water resources, parliamentary affairs, information & public relations and building construction departments, while Bijendra Prasad Yadav retains energy, planning & development, excise & prohibition, as well as finance and commercial taxes. Shravan Kumar of JD(U) continues with rural development and adds transport. On the BJP side, Mangal Pandey retains health alongside law & justice, and state BJP chief Dilip Jaiswal takes industries. Ashok Chaudhary of JD(U) keeps rural works, whereas Lesi Singh from the same party gets food & consumer protection. BJP's Nitin Nabin retains road construction and gains urban development, Ram Kripal Yadav is vested with agriculture, and Madan Sahni (JD-U) handles social welfare. Santosh Kumar Suman of HAM(S) is assigned minor irrigation, while Sunil Kumar-listed with prior continuity, likely an NDA affiliate despite an apparent RJD reference-retains education and adds science & technology. The only minority face of Nitish cabinet, Jama Khan of JD (U) has been given minority welfare department. Further allocations include Arun Shankar Prasad of BJP overseeing tourism, art, culture & youth affairs; Surendra Mehta of BJP managing animal husbandry & fisheries; and Narayan Prasad (BJP) tasked with disaster management. For smaller allies, Sanjay Kumar of LJP(RV) gets sugarcane industries, and Sanjay Kumar Singh from the same party handles public health engineering, while Dipak Prakash of RLM, son of Upendra Kushwaha, bags panchayati raj department. Additional BJP ministers include Sanjay Singh Tiger with labour resources; Rama Nishad overseeing backward & extremely backward classes welfare; Lakhendra Kumar Raushan managing scheduled castes & scheduled tribes welfare; Shreyasi Singh, a second-time MLA, handling sports and information technology; and Pramod Kumar allotted forest environment and cooperative departments. JD(U) ministers, including several loyalists from Kumar's inner circle, were allocated departments focused on rural development, agriculture, and social welfare, aligning with the party's core voter base among EBCs and OBCs. Reacting to the CM giving away the home department to the BJP, Mahaghatbhandhan leaders said that this was just the beginning. "BJP has succeeded in its plan. We have been saying that Nitish Kumar would only be the face," said RJD spokesperson Ejaj Ahmed. "Wait for some time. CM's chair will also go from Nitish Kumar and he would be the L K Advani of Bihar," said Congress spokesperson Asit Nath Tiwary....