Patna: One day before the new government is formed on Thursday, NDA partners are still lobbying to finalize cabinet seats, according to sources. On November 20, JD(U) leader Nitish Kumar, who resigned as head of the departing NDA government in the eastern state on Wednesday, will take the oath of office as chief minister for a record tenth time in Patna’s famed Gandhi Maidan. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Defense Minister Rajnath Singh, Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, and chief ministers from several states are among the prominent NDA figures anticipated to attend the event.
Shah is expected to arrive in the state capital on Wednesday night, one day before the swearing-in, according to BJP insiders. According to sources, NDA partners have reached an agreement about the position of Assembly Speaker; Prem Kumar of the BJP is expected to be appointed, while JD(U) would be nominated Deputy Speaker. According to sources, the NDA’s primary elements, the BJP and the JD (U), would comprise five to six new members of the new Cabinet.
The JD(U) state chief who won the Mahnar assembly seat, Umesh Singh Kushwaha, is probably going to be appointed to the next Cabinet. The BJP might add a few new ministers, but JD(U) is probably going to keep its current ministers. Union Minister Chirag Paswan’s LJP (RV), Jitan Ram Manjhi’s HAM-S, and Upendra Kushwaha’s RLM are smaller allies that will also be represented. “The HAM-S and RLM will each receive one seat in the next state cabinet, while the LJP (RV) is expected to receive three. On November 20, a maximum of 16 BJP ministers, 14 JD(U) ministers, and chief minister Nitish Kumar will take the oath of office, according to sources.
Bijendra Prasad Yadav, Vijay Kumar Choudhary, Shrowan Kumar, Sunil Kumar, Lesi Singh, Sheila Mandal, Madan Sahni, Ratnesh Sada, Mohammad Zama Khan, Jayant Raj, Umesh Singh Kushwaha, and Ashok Chowdhary are among the JD(U) leaders who are probably going to be in the new Cabinet. According to sources, Rahul Kumar Singh, Sudhanshu Shekhar, Kaladhar Prasad Mandal, and Panna Lal Singh Patel are additional likely JD(U) inductees.
According to BJP sources, the party is considering three new candidates while keeping the majority of the departing Cabinet’s members. Samrat Choudhary, Prem Kumar, Mangal Pandey, Vijay Kumar Sinha, Nitish Mishra, Renu Devi, Jibesh Kumar, Neeraj Kumar Singh, Janak Ram, Hari Sahni, Kedar Prasad Gupta, Surendra Mehta, Santosh Kumar Singh, Sunil Kumar, and Motil Lal Prasad are among those who are probably going to stay. According to sources, former IPS officer Anand Mishra (elected from Buxar), Rana Randhir, Gayatri Devi, and Vijay Kumar Khemka are possible new faces from the BJP.
