Patna: Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Saturday defied the popular perception that his wings would be clipped as he retained the home department in the allocation of portfolios in the new NDA cabinet.
Nitish also retained the personnel department, apart from keeping general administration, the cabinet secretariat, the vigilance, and all other unallocated portfolios.
The JD(U), however, had to part with the finance department as it went to Samrat Choudhary of the BJP.
The delay in distribution of portfolios, according to JD(U) sources, was due to Nitish’s reluctance to part with the home department. The home department in Bihar has always been held by the chief minister since 1977.
For now, Nitish has stood his ground in both distribution of portfolios and the ministers to take oath of the two allies. “The BJP would not like to upset the alliance, at least till the Lok Sabha polls and, therefore, has not applied any pressure. But I am not sure what will happen after the Lok Sabha polls,” a BJP MLA told ThePrint.
The delay in even distribution of portfolios had led to jibes from the RJD. “Portfolio distribution is a routine affair usually done either on the same day or next day. The very fact that it has taken so long indicates trouble in the NDA,” RJD spokesperson Shakti Yadav told ThePrint.
He also pointed out that JD(U) MLA Gopal Mandal had publicly demanded that he should be made minister and that former CM Jitan Ram Manjhi had demanded another minister from Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM). Manjhi’s son Santosh Suman has already been sworn in as a minister and given information technology, and the SC/ST welfare departments.
Deputy CM Samrat Choudhary denied any trouble in distribution of portfolios or in the expansion of the NDA ministry.
“There is no problem in the NDA over distribution of ministries or even expansion. I would like to remind the RJD that after the 1995 assembly polls, the Lalu ministry had only 12 ministers for over one year before it expanded,” he told TherPrint.
He also hinted that the cabinet expansion may take place after winning the vote of confidence in the Bihar assembly. The vote of confidence will now take place on 12 February, when the House opens for the budget session.
Currently, the Bihar cabinet has only eight ministers apart from Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. Bihar with 243 MLAs in the assembly can make 36 ministers including the CM, and those presently holding multiple portfolios will be giving it away to other ministers sworn in after the expansion.
The distribution of portfolios suggests that the 2020 formula has been implemented, i.e., one minister for every four MLAs. Deputy CM Samrat Choudhary has been allotted nine portfolios including, finance, urban development , panchayati raj and industry, while the other deputy CM Vijay Kumar Sinha got over nine ministries including road construction, labour, land revenue and sugar industry.
JD(U)’s Vijay Kumar Choudhary has been given six ministries, including water resources, education, parliamentary affairs and transport. Another JD(U) minister Bijendra Prasad Yadav also got six ministries including energy, rural works and excise and prohibition.
Shrawan Kumar of JD(U) was handed over three ministries including rural development, while BJP’s Prem Kumar was given five departments including tourism, environment and forest and cooperatives.
Sumit Singh, the sole independent MLA, remains the minister for technical education.
The first hurdle for the NDA government will be the removal of Speaker Awadh Bihari Choudhary, with the RJD in no mood to oblige the ruling NDA to remove Choudhary from the post of Speaker.
BJP leader Nand Kishore Yadav has already served a no-trust motion against the Speaker and it is expected to be taken up on 12 February.
“We have the support of 128 MLAs and removing Choudhary should not be a problem,” BJP MLA Gyanendra Singh Gyanu told ThePrint.
BJP leader Nand Kishore Yadav has already served a no-trust motion against the Speaker and it is expected to be taken up on 12 February.
“We have the support of 128 MLAs and removing Choudhary should not be a problem,” BJP MLA Gyanendra Singh Gyanu told ThePrint.
(Edited by Tony Rai)
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