In a historic political event, Nitish Kumar was sworn in as the Chief Minister of Bihar for an unprecedented tenth time on Thursday. The grand ceremony took place at Patna's iconic Gandhi Maidan, marking another chapter in Kumar's long political career.
Cabinet Composition and Criminal Records
The new cabinet saw Samrat Chaudhary and Vijay Kumar Sinha taking oath as the two deputy chief ministers alongside 26 other ministers. However, an analysis by the Election watchdog Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) revealed concerning details about the newly formed government.
Out of the 24 ministers analysed, 11 (46%) have declared criminal cases against them, while 9 (38%) face serious criminal charges. The BJP, which holds 14 ministerial positions in the 26-member cabinet, has 6 leaders with serious criminal cases pending against them.
Mangal Pandey, the BJP minister from Siwan, leads with eight serious criminal cases, followed by Ram Nishad from Aurai constituency with five serious cases. The Janata Dal (United), with eight ministers excluding CM Nitish Kumar, has one member with serious criminal cases and two with criminal cases.
Financial and Educational Background
The financial analysis presents equally striking figures. 21 out of 24 ministers (88%) are crorepatis, with average assets worth ₹5.32 crores. Rama Nishad from Aurai emerged as the wealthiest minister with declared assets of ₹31.86 crores, while Sanjay Kumar from Bakhri (SC) constituency has the lowest assets at ₹22.30 lakhs.
Regarding educational qualifications, 15 ministers (63%) are graduates or above, while 8 ministers (33%) have educational qualifications between 10th and 12th standard. One minister holds a diploma, and only one minister is a 10th pass.
Age and Gender Representation
The age distribution shows that 19 ministers (79%) are between 51 and 80 years old, while only 5 ministers (21%) fall in the 30-50 years age bracket. Women representation remains low with only 3 women ministers (11%) in the 27-member cabinet.
Vijay Kumar Sinha from Lakhisarai constituency carries the highest liabilities at ₹82.33 lakhs, with 15 ministers (63%) declaring liabilities overall. The formation of this cabinet sets the stage for Bihar's political future, though the high percentage of ministers with criminal backgrounds raises questions about governance standards.
