Daijiworld Media Network – Patna
Patna, May 7: Former Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s son Nishant Kumar, BJP leader Vijay Kumar Sinha and 29 other legislators were sworn in as ministers in the expanded cabinet of Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary on Thursday.
Governor Syed Ata Hasnain administered the oath of office and secrecy to the newly inducted ministers during a ceremony held at Gandhi Maidan in Patna. The swearing-in was conducted in batches of five ministers each.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, BJP leaders and several senior NDA functionaries attended the first cabinet expansion of the BJP-led government in Bihar.
The expanded ministry also included representatives from Chirag Paswan-led Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas), Jitan Ram Manjhi’s Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular), and other NDA allies.
The induction of Nishant Kumar drew particular attention as it marked his formal entry into the Bihar government after recently stepping into active politics following Nitish Kumar’s resignation from the Assembly.
Sources in JD(U) said party leaders and workers had long been urging Nishant Kumar to take on a larger political role. Though he initially preferred organisational responsibilities, he has now accepted a ministerial position in the state cabinet.
The cabinet expansion came weeks after Samrat Choudhary assumed office as Bihar Chief Minister on April 15 following Nitish Kumar’s resignation and subsequent move to the Rajya Sabha.
Apart from Choudhary, senior JD(U) leaders Vijay Kumar Choudhary and Bijendra Prasad Yadav had earlier taken oath as members of the Council of Ministers.
Among those sworn in from the BJP were Vijay Kumar Sinha, Ram Kripal Yadav, Nitish Mishra, Dilip Jaiswal, Shreyasi Singh, Pramod Chandravanshi, Sanjay Tiger, Engineer Kumar Shailendra and several others.
The JD(U) quota included Nishant Kumar, Shravan Kumar, Ashok Choudhary, Ratnesh Sada, Madan Sahni, Lesi Singh, Sheela Mandal and Jama Khan among others.
The Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) inducted Sanjay Paswan and Sanjay Singh, while Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) was represented by Santosh Suman. Rashtriya Lok Morcha leader Deepak Prakash also joined the ministry.
The cabinet expansion is being viewed as politically significant ahead of the upcoming electoral cycle in Bihar, with the NDA seeking to strengthen caste and regional representation within the government.