PM Modi, Amit Shah And Top NDA Brass To Attend Bihar Cabinet Expansion On May 7

Patna: With the high-voltage Assembly polls in four states and one Union Territory over, Bihar is all set for Cabinet expansion on Thursday, May 7.

It will take place at a high-profile public ceremony at the Gandhi Maidan in Patna. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, several other Central Ministers, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) national president Nitin Nabin and Chief Ministers of various National Democratic Alliance (NDA)-ruled states are expected to attend.

Bihar BJP president Sanjay Saraogi told ETV Bharat, "The Cabinet will be expanded on May 7. Our party's top leaders have agreed to attend it. The expansion will enhance the government's efficiency and capabilities."

Preparations are underway for the event, especially given the prevailing stormy weather in the state. The venue has been closed to the public and will open on the day of the cabinet expansion.

The new NDA government was sworn in on April 15. Currently, Bihar is functioning with just a three-member Cabinet, including Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary and two Deputy Chief Ministers: Vijay Kumar Choudhary and Bijendra Prasad Yadav.

Though Samrat was ushered in as the first BJP Chief Minister of the state, the ceremony was low-key, as the top leaders of the party were busy in the Assembly polls in West Bengal, Assam, Tamil Nadu, Keralam and Puducherry. Also, the new dispensation did not want to indulge in a pompous ceremony soon after Nitish Kumar's exit, who had been at the helm for around 20 years.

The expansion comes after Samrat met Nitish and other senior Janata Dal-United (JD-U) leaders last weekend and then flew to Delhi to discuss Cabinet probables with top BJP leaders.

Bihar, with a 243-member Assembly, can have a maximum of 36 Ministers, as mandated by Article 164(1A) of the Constitution. With a three-member Cabinet, 33 positions are vacant. However, sources in the BJP said that not all Cabinet positions would be filled.

"A few Cabinet berths would be kept vacant for possible political eventualities. This would ensure that people could be accommodated if there is a split in any party and the group joins the NDA," a senior BJP leader said.

The NDA has five constituents in the state, including the BJP, JDU, Chirag Paswan's Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) (LJP-RV), Hindustani Awam Morcha-Secular (HAM-S) and Rashtriya Lok Morcha (RLM). Leaders from these parties would have to be accommodated in the Cabinet to ensure that the government functions smoothly.

The previous government had 27 ministers, including Nitish Kumar. There are indications that the same formula would be repeated in the induction.

Accordingly, there could be two ministers from the LJP-RV and one each from HAM-S and RLM. On the other hand, the larger parties, the BJP and JD(U), could get equal numbers of berths. Their strength in the Assembly is almost equal, with 88 and 85 MLAs, respectively.

It will be interesting to see whether the BJP and JDU induct the same ministers from the previous cabinet, pick new faces, or rely on a judicious mix of experienced and young leaders.

There are also expectations that Samrat could choose a few younger leaders to be part of his Cabinet, while the JD(U) could tread the same path to prepare the ground for Nitish’s son, Nishant Kumar, as a Deputy Chief Minister at a later stage.

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