IANS | The Nitish Kumar government in Bihar began its new innings on Thursday with a 26-member cabinet calibrated around caste representation, party arithmetic and political messaging, marking the Chief Minister’s 10th oath-taking ceremony at Patna’s Gandhi Maidan. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Janata Dal (United), Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas), Rashtriya Lok Morcha, and Hindustani Awam Morcha secured ministerial berths as the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) sought to reaffirm its social coalition.
The BJP, the largest NDA constituent in the Assembly, secured 14 cabinet positions, while the JD(U) received eight. Two ministers were inducted from LJP(RV) and one each from RLM and HAM. The distribution reflects renewed attempts by the ruling alliance to strengthen its support among dominant castes, expand its OBC coalition, retain its EBC base, and send symbolic signals to minority voters.
A notable shift emerged in the representation of Brahmins, a group that held two berths in the previous cabinet. The BJP retained only Mangal Pandey in the new line-up, while the JD(U) did not allocate any ministerial position to Brahmin MLAs. In contrast, the BJP placed greater emphasis on Rajputs, inducting Sanjay Tiger, Shreyasi Singh, Leshi Singh, and Sanjay Singh, an evident attempt to reinforce a core vote bloc.
The Bhumihar community, influential in several districts, continues to hold weight with the inclusion of Vijay Kumar Sinha and Vijay Chaudhary. Kayastha representation came through Nitin Naveen, a prominent BJP face in Patna and urban segments.
The largest share of the cabinet continues to be drawn from the Other Backward Classes (OBCs), reflecting Bihar’s longstanding political trend. Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary, Deepak Prakash, Ram Kripal Yadav, Vijendra Prasad Yadav, Shravan Kumar, and Pramod Kumar collectively represent Kushwaha, Yadav, Kurmi, and Chandravanshi groupings, communities that remain pivotal in electoral contests. The inclusion of two Yadav ministers stands out as a calculated outreach beyond the NDA’s traditional support base.
Extremely Backward Classes (EBCs), who have played a decisive role in the alliance’s recent electoral success, retained substantial visibility. Ministers such as Surendra Mehta, Rama Nishad, Madan Sahani, Lakhendra Kumar Roshan, Sunil Kumar, Santosh Kumar Suman and Sanjay Kumar represent Dhanuk, Nishad, Mallah, Paswan, Ravidas and Manjhi communities. Their presence reinforces a strategy the NDA has nurtured over multiple election cycles.
The inclusion of Mohammad Jama Khan offers symbolic Muslim representation, a move low in numbers but politically significant in a sharply polarised landscape.
Nitish Kumar’s return for a historic 10th stint came amid renewed speculation over alliance dynamics, much like in 2020, when questions abounded about whether the BJP would let him continue. Despite fluctuating seat tallies and shifting political alignments over decades, the BJP maintained its commitment to backing a JD(U)-led government.
Born in 1951 and shaped by the socialist movements of the 1970s, Nitish has traversed multiple political paths, from the Samata Party to various Janata Parivar formations and strategic alliances with both the BJP and opposition coalitions. His governance legacy, built on infrastructure expansion, rural electrification and administrative reforms, helped cement his image as “sushashanbabu,” a reputation he carries into his latest term.
Now approaching two decades in office cumulatively, over 19 years and eight months, Nitish moves closer to joining India’s longest-serving chief ministers, alongside leaders like Pawan Kumar Chamling, Naveen Patnaik and Jyoti Basu.
As he begins a fresh five-year tenure, the composition of the new cabinet signals continuity with past strategies, governance branding on one hand and meticulous caste engineering on the other, reflecting a political model that has repeatedly shaped Bihar’s electoral outcomes.
