NEW DELHI, Nov. 18 -- With the swearing-in ceremony of the new NDA government in Bihar slated for November 20, allies are locked in last-minute talks on the formation of the Cabinet and a few ticklish issues still remain to be resolved. Nitish Kumar is all set to take oath as Chief Minister for the 10th time in a row.
While the contours of the new Cabinet are taking final shape with hectic parleys among the allies, sources have indicated that JD (U) is reportedly keen on retaining the powerful Home portfolio which has been held so far by Nitish Kumar. Efforts are on to evolve a consensus over the post of Assembly Speaker among the NDA partners as both the BJP and the JD(U) are staking their claim to the post.
In the outgoing Assembly, BJP leader Nand Kishore Yadav served as Speaker, while JD(U)'s Narendra Narayan Yadav held the position of Deputy Speaker. Sources indicated that both the JDU and the BJP were also trying to get the Speaker's post. In the NDA's landslide victory, the BJP emerged as the single largest party with 89 seats, followed by the JDU with 85. Smaller allies, including Chirag Paswan's party, HAM and the RLM, also performed well, taking the tally to 202 in the 243-member Assembly.
"The LJP (RV) is likely to get three berths in the new state Cabinet while the HAM-S and RLM one berth each. A maximum of 16 ministers from the BJP and 14 ministers and Nitish Kumar from JD(U) will take oath on November 20," a source indicated.
"We are looking forward to having greater representation in the new Cabinet, compared with the last one in which our party had only 12 ministers. We want more berths in the Cabinet because our tally has risen sharply since 2020, when we had less than 50 MLAs," JD (U) sources said.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah is likely to arrive in Patna on Wednesday evening to attend the swearing-in ceremony of the new NDA government. Several other top BJP leaders, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Rajnath Singh and Dharmendra Pradhan will also reach Patna around the same time.
Ahead of the government's formation, JD(U) leaders Sanjay Jha and Lalan Singh met Shah at his residence in the Capital. BJP president J P Nadda also attended the closed-door meeting, which lasted about three hours.
The process of forming the NDA government began after Nitish Kumar met Governor Arif Mohammed Khan on Monday and recommended the dissolution of the outgoing Assembly, effective from November 19.
Kumar is scheduled to meet the governor again on Wednesday to submit a letter of support from all NDA constituents, cementing the alliance's claim to form the government.
While JD (U) is all set to repeat its current ministers in the next Cabinet, the BJP may bring some new faces.
The new Cabinet is expected to have five to six new faces from the main constituents of the NDA - the BJP and JD (U). Umesh Singh Kushwaha, JD (U) chief of the state unit who won from the Mahnar Assembly seat, is likely to be inducted in the new Cabinet.
The Cabinet will also address regional and caste equations and accommodate all parties of the alliance, not just a single party, sources said. There will be two new entrants for ministerial berths. Parties of Chirag Paswan and Upendra Kushwaha will also receive adequate representation.
The BJP may elect a Speaker and two Deputy Chief Ministers keeping the caste balance in mind, sources said.
A maximum of 36 ministers, including the Chief Minister, can be appointed in the state and sources said some positions in the Cabinet could be kept vacant. Being the largest party, the BJP is likely to have the largest number of ministers.
In the outgoing government, there were 21 ministers from the BJP, 13 from the JDU (including the Chief Minister), one from the HAM, and one Independent.
This time, Chirag Paswan may have two ministers and Upendra Kushwaha one. Sources said Raju Tiwari from Chirag Paswan's party is being considered for one of the ministerial berths. Upendra Kushwaha's wife Snehlata Kushwaha could also become a minister.
Region-wise, the ruling alliance had strong success in areas like Shahabad, Magadh, Mithila, and Saran so they will get adequate representation. Several ministers from the current government may be reappointed.
"All preparations have been made for the oath ceremony... This is the swearing-in ceremony of a new flight of development in Bihar," said BJP leader Nitin Nabin.
The historic Gandhi Maidan, where the swearing-in ceremony will be held, has been closed to the general public until November 20. There is a complete ban on the entry of common people into the Gandhi Maidan till November 20, the Patna district administration said in a statement on Monday.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.