Bihar Cabinet: 17 new Ministers inducted; BJP's Shahnawaz Hussain is new Industry Minister

On Tuesday, 17 more Ministers- 9 from BJP and 8 from JD(U) were inducted in the Bihar Cabinet at the Raj Bhavan in Patna in the presence of CM Nitish Kumar. When Kumar was sworn-in as the CM for the 7th time on November 16, 2020, only 13 other Ministers were administered the oath of office and secrecy. This included Deputy Chief Ministers Tarkishore Prasad and Renu Devi, Bihar JD(U) president Ashok Choudhary, BJP MLC Mangal Pandey, HAM(S) supremo's son Santosh Kumar Suman and VIP chief Mukesh Sahani. 

As part of the latest Cabinet expansion, Syed Shahnawaz Hussain, Nitin Nabin, Pramod Kumar, late actor Sushant Singh Rajput's cousin Neeraj Kumar Singh Bablu, Samrat Choudhary, Janak Ram, Alok Ranjan Jha, Subhash Singh and Narayan Prasad have been inducted from the BJP's quota. A former MP, Janak Ram is not a member of any House of the Bihar Legislature as of now. On the other hand, the new JD(U) Ministers include Sanjay Jha, Shravan Kumar,  Leshi Singh, Jayant Raj, Jama Khan, Sumit Singh, Sunil Kumar and Madan Sahni.

As per the new portfolio allocation, the CM is in charge of the Home Department while Tarkishore Prasad has retained Finance. The Panchayati Raj portfolio will now be handled by Samrat Choudhary instead of Renu Devi. BSP-turned-JD(U) legislator Jama Khan has been allocated the Minority Affairs portfolio. On the other hand, former Union Minister and BJP national spokesperson Syed Shahnawaz Hussain has been appointed as the Industry Minister. Moreover, Neeraj Kumar Singh Bablu and Mangal Pandey will serve as the Environment and Health Minister respectively. 

Read: Bihar Cabinet Expansion: Dissatisfied BJP MLA Gyanendra Singh Revolts; Makes Allegations

Portfolio allocation in Bihar

Read: Bihar Farmers Being Held Back Because Of Lack Of Organisations: Tariq Anwar

JD(U)'s reduced clout after Bihar polls

The 2020 Bihar Assembly election witnessed a voter turnout of 57.05% as against that of 56.66% in the 2015 polls. The polls turned out to be a nail-biting contest with NDA emerging victorious in 125 seats as against that of 110 seats won by the Mahagatbandhan. BJP, RJD, JD(U), Congress won 74, 75, 43, and 19 seats respectively. With 4 seats each, VIP and HAM (S) had a crucial role to play in the ruling alliance breaching the majority mark.

Similarly, AIMIM made a huge mark in Bihar politics as 5 of its candidates were declared winners. BJP winning more seats than JD(U) for the first time in a Bihar Assembly election led to the speculation that JD(U)'s clout in the alliance will reduce. LJP, who lauded Prime Minister Narendra Modi and targeted Nitish Kumar throughout the election campaign, is believed to have damaged JD(U)'s prospects in 32 seats despite bagging a solitary seat. 

Read: Bihar Assembly Building Completes 100 Yrs; Nitish Tells Ruling Members They Are 'sevaks' And Not 'maalik'