Bihar Cabinet Expansion: Meet 7 BJP MLAs Inducted As Ministers Ahead Of Key Assembly Elections

Bihar Cabinet Expansion: The Bihar government on Wednesday inducted seven MLAs from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) into Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's cabinet.

With this expansion, the state cabinet has now reached its maximum permissible strength of 36 members in the 243-member assembly.

Photo Credit: PTI

Governor Arif Mohammad Khan administered the oath to the newly appointed ministers.

Who are the seven new ministers?

Jibesh Kumar, the MLA from Jale, was previously the Minister of Labour Resources until August 2022, when CM Nitish Kumar severed ties with the BJP, accusing the party of attempting to "break" the Janata Dal (United) [JDU].

Sunil Kumar, another new minister, represents Bihar Sharif, located in CM Nitish Kumar's stronghold of Nalanda. He has served as an MLA thrice on a JDU ticket before switching to the BJP in 2015.

Sanjay Saraogi, a five-term MLA from Darbhanga, also took the oath as a minister.

Raju Kumar Singh, the MLA from Sahebganj in Muzaffarpur, was also sworn in. He won the seat in 2020 on a ticket from the Vikassheel Insan Party (VIP), a party founded by former Bollywood set designer Mukesh Sahni.

The VIP secured three seats in that election, but all its MLAs joined the BJP two years ago after Sahni's fallout with the party, which also led to him losing his cabinet position.

Krishna Kumar Mantu, representing Amnour in Saran district, was also inducted. He recently organised the 'Kurmi Chetna Rally' in Patna, aimed at engaging with the influential OBC community, to which JDU supremo Nitish Kumar belongs.

The final two ministers are Vijay Kumar Mandal, the MLA from Sikti in Araria district, and Moti Lal Prasad, who represents Riga in Sitamarhi.

BJP's Strategic Move Ahead of Elections

This cabinet expansion appears to be a calculated political move by the BJP and follows a meeting of the party's "core group" in Patna, chaired by its national president a day earlier.

Among the new ministers, Jibesh Kumar (Bhumihar) and Raju Kumar Singh (Rajput) belong to upper castes, who make up just over 10% of Bihar's population but have remained steadfast BJP supporters for decades.

With the exception of Sunil Kumar, all the newly inducted ministers represent constituencies north of the Ganges, a region where the NDA has consistently performed better than the opposition alliance of the RJD, Congress, and Left parties.

BJP's 'One Person, One Post' Policy

Meanwhile, BJP state president Dilip Jaiswal announced his resignation from his role as Revenue Minister, citing the party's "One Person, One Post" principle.

"I am going to resign from the post of revenue minister. 'One person, one post' is the principle on which the party works. I am thankful that the central leadership has given me the responsibility of the party's state unit," Jaiswal stated.

(With agency inputs)