17 new ministers in Bihar cabinet

PATNA: Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar inducted 17 new ministers into his cabinet on Tuesday ahead of the Budget session of the legislature, heralding a generational shift by making room for several new faces in the coalition between his Janata Dal (United), or JD (U), and the Bharatiya Janata Prty (BJP).

Governor Phagu Chouhan administered the oath of office to the new ministers – nine from the BJP and eight from the JD (U) – in a ceremony at Raj Bhawan. The exercise took the strength of the Nitish Kumar cabinet to 30, with six berths still vacant. The portfolio distribution also showed the impact of induction of 11 new faces in the cabinet, with several key departments going to first-time ministers.

Former Union minister and

BJP national spokesman Shahnawaz Hussain, who was recently elected to the Bihar legislative council, was the first to be sworn in, and was followed by JD (U)’s Shravan Kumar and Madan Sahni. Many new ministers were dressed in their regional attire and took the oath of office in their local dialects.

Nitish Kumar, deputy CMS Tar Kishore Prasad and Renu Devi, speaker Vijay Kumar Sinha, legislative council chairman Avadhesh Narayan Singh,

Rajya Sabha member Sushil Kumar Modi and a host of other leaders were present. Leader of the Opposition Tejaswhi Yadav was not present. He is in Delhi, said a party colleague on condition of anonymity.

The JD (U)-BJP alliance retained power in the Octobernovember elections, defeating a coalition of Yadav’s Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), Congress and Left parties.

What was significant about the cabinet expansion, which happened after 84 days after the government was sworn in, was an evident preference for youth. Several BJP politicians, for instance, have become firsttime ministers.

Leaders like Prem Kumar and Nand Kishore Yadav, who were part of all previous NDA governments, have not found a place this time. Senior BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi has been sent to the Rajya Sabha.

From the last cabinet, BJP has retained only two ministers– Mangal Pandey and Pramod Kumar.

From the JD (U) quota, Sumit Singh, who won election from Chakai as an independent candidate and extended support to the Nitish Kumar party, and Jama Khan, who won as a Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) candidate from Chainpur, but recently joined JD (U), have been accommodated in the cabinet.

Khan is the lone Muslim face from the JD (U) in the cabinet Sumit Singh is the youngest at age 31.

Bihar BJP president Sanjay Jaiswal said the cabinet expansion would accelerate Bihar’s economic development.

“Talent has been given preference and social and regional balance have been kept in mind. A generational change should happen and it is quite natural,” he added.

FORMER UNION MINISTER AND BJP NATIONAL SPOKESMAN SHAHNAWAZ HUSSAIN WAS THE FIRST TO BE SWORN IN