Patna: A day ahead of the Bihar cabinet expansion, state JD(U) president Umesh Singh Kushwaha on Wednesday laid claims over 16 berths in the Samrat Choudhary government. In the previous Nitish Kumar government that was sworn in after the November 2025 assembly polls in the state, the JD(U) had only eight ministers whereas the BJP had 14, including two deputy chief ministers.
Kushwaha placed his demand before the newly-appointed Samrat Choudhary government while talking to reporters on Wednesday. The BJP-led NDA government, headed by Samrat, took oath only last month after Nitish resigned as the chief minister following his nomination to the Rajya Sabha.
When asked by reporters how many JD(U) leaders would become ministers, Kushwaha said, "It has already been made clear that we will have 16."
The council of ministers is set to undergo an expansion on Thursday at a grand function, which is likely to be attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, and BJP President Nitin Nabin, among others.
The state cabinet can have up to 36 ministers, in keeping with the Constitution stipulating that the council of ministers must not exceed more than 15% of the total strength of the assembly. The Bihar assembly has 243 members. Currently, the state cabinet has only two ministers — Vijay Kumar Choudhary and Bijendra Prasad Yadav — both from the JD(U), designated as the deputy chief ministers. They have been burdened with as many as 18 departments, with Samrat holding 10 portfolios and Yadav in charge of eight departments.
Claiming it would be the beginning of the "Nishant era" in Bihar after his father shifted to national politics, Kushwaha said Nishant agreed to become a minister only after interacting with the masses and knowing their views. "Each worker wanted him to become the deputy chief minister during the government oath-taking ceremony held last month, but he remained adamant on going among the masses and knowing their issues before accepting the post," he said.
He added that the new government will strictly follow the "Nitish model" and will also follow the ideology of the JD(U) national president. "Only the Nitish model will be in practice here," he asserted.
