Bihar’s political landscape is abuzz with anticipation for a cabinet expansion following Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary’s successful floor test. Discussions involving key NDA leaders are underway to finalize ministerial appointments. Sources suggest the expansion will occur after the ongoing West Bengal assembly elections, with potential reshuffles in key portfolios and the induction of new faces.
Patna: All eyes are now on cabinet expansion after CM Samrat Choudhary passed the floor test on Friday. Samrat’s meeting with his predecessor Nitish Kumar on Saturday in the presence of Union minister and senior JD(U) leader Rajeev Ranjan Singh alias Lalan Singh is believed to have been a courtesy visit after winning the trust vote as well as a step towards state cabinet expansion.Currently, the NDA govt is being run by Bihar’s first BJP chief minister Samrat and two deputy chief ministers from JD(U) — Vijay Kumar Choudhary and Bijendra Prasad Yadav. They took the oath of office on April 15 after Nitish relinquished the CM post on April 14 following his election to the Rajya Sabha.Though BJP state president Sanjay Saraogi said cabinet expansion is likely soon, party leader and former minister Ram Kripal Yadav indicated the exercise is expected only after the second phase of Bengal assembly elections on April 29.
Sources said the final shape of the Samrat cabinet will be decided after the West Bengal polls and before the assembly election results in Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Puducherry on May 4.
Ram Kripal said on Saturday the cabinet expansion issue will be decided by top NDA leaders. “But I think it will take place after the assembly elections,” he added.Samrat, who recently met PM Narendra Modi and BJP national president Nitin Nabin in Delhi, could not meet Union home minister Amit Shah, who was preoccupied with election campaigning in West Bengal.
It is anticipated Samrat will likely meet Shah before the Bihar cabinet expansion is finalised.Saraogi said the new govt is working on a long-term plan for the state’s development and, in the times to come, Bihar will be steered forward by a robust team. Saraogi also hinted Samrat and other NDA leaders have already formulated a comprehensive roadmap for Bihar’s development till 2030. “Leaders from the NDA’s constituent parties will soon sit together to finalise the names of the new ministers.
The cabinet expansion would prove to be a transformative moment for the future of Bihar,” he said.However, there are certain sticking points regarding allocation of specific departments. For instance, the home department has traditionally remained under the direct control of the CM, except during the previous Nitish-led govt when the responsibility was entrusted to the BJP’s Samrat, who was then the deputy CM.
Sources said JD(U) is now staking a claim to the home department. There are also chances of reshuffles in other influential portfolios such as finance, rural development, road construction and water resources departments.The NDA constituents may attempt to convey a political message this time by inducting several new faces as ministers into the cabinet. This could potentially include some of the 14 young JD(U) MLAs who are often seen alongside Nishant Kumar, son of Nitish Kumar. Nishant has been meeting party workers to strengthen the JD(U) at the grassroots level.
