Nitish Cabinet Expansion: Seven BJP Quota MLAs Take Oath as Ministers

Seven MLAs from the BJP quota—Krishna Kumar Mantu, Vijay Mandal, Raju Singh, Sanjay Sarawagi, Jivesh Mishra, Sunil Kumar, and Motilal Prasad—took the oath as ministers.

Governor Arif Mohammed Khan administered the oath of office and secrecy. Notably, two legislators from the Mithilanchal region, Sanjay Sarawagi and Jivesh Kumar Mishra, took their oaths in the Maithili language.

The first to take the oath was BJP MLA from Darbhanga, Sanjay Sarawagi, who did so in Maithili. Following him, Sunil Kumar, BJP MLA from Bihar Sharif, took oath. Subsequently, Jivesh Mishra (BJP MLA from Jale in Darbhanga), Raju Singh (BJP MLA from Sahebganj in Muzaffarpur), and Motilal Prasad (MLA from Riga) were sworn in as ministers. Krishna Kumar Mantu took the oath in the sixth position, while Vijay Kumar Mandal was the last to be sworn in.

In this cabinet expansion, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar ensured not only caste-based representation but also paid close attention to regional equations. All the BJP quota ministers who took the oath hail from different regions of Bihar. This move is expected to have an impact on the upcoming Bihar Assembly elections later this year, as it strengthens representation from these areas.

Recognizing the importance of the Mithilanchal region, the BJP has appointed two MLAs from this area as ministers. It is believed that through this strategic move, the BJP aims to gain an advantage in approximately 50 seats in Mithilanchal during the upcoming assembly elections.

Major Responsibilities Await New Ministers

The budget session of the Bihar Legislative Assembly is set to begin on February 28. With the swearing-in of the seven BJP MLAs as ministers just before the session, they will shoulder significant responsibilities. Given that assembly elections are scheduled in Bihar later this year, this budget session holds particular importance. During the session, the role of the new ministers will be crucial. They will face the challenge of ensuring the timely implementation of their respective departments’ schemes.

Jaiswal Resigned from Ministerial Post in the Morning

The events leading up to the cabinet expansion suddenly gained attention on Wednesday morning after Dr. Dilip Jaiswal, the BJP state president and Bihar’s Revenue and Land Reforms Minister, tendered his resignation. This sparked heated discussions in Bihar’s political circles. However, Dr. Dilip Jaiswal clarified that he resigned from the ministerial post due to the party’s principle of “one person, one post.” Following this, a strategy was devised to include seven BJP quota ministers in the Bihar government, which culminated in their swearing-in at 4 PM.