Patna: JD(U) supremo Nitish Kumar's son, Nishant Kumar, is likely to become a minister in Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary's cabinet expansion on Thursday. He will be among three new JD(U) faces to take oath as ministers in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, and top BJP and NDA leaders at Gandhi Maidan at 12:10 PM on Thursday.
Preparations for the Ceremony
Chief Minister Samrat inspected the venue on Wednesday with top state officials. Amit Shah, along with BJP National President Nitin Nabin, reached Patna late Wednesday evening and held discussions with party leaders to finalize the list of 12 more ministers for the party's quota of 16. BJP will retain Vijay Kumar Sinha, Mangal Pandey, Dilip Kumar Jaiswal, Ram Kripal Yadav, Sanjay Singh Tiger, Shreyasi Singh, and Lakhendra Paswan. Nitish Mishra, Sangeeta Kumari, and Rama Nishad are also likely to be ministers, while Digha MLA Sanjeev Chaurasia may be the new BJP face in the cabinet.
LJP(RV) state in-charge and MP Arun Bharti handed over a list of two names—probably Sanjay Paswan and Sanjay Singh—to the Chief Minister for cabinet berths. HAM(S) National President Santosh Kumar Suman will be a minister again, while RLM of Upendra Kushwaha is to choose between his son Deepak Prakash and MLA wife Snehlata for the cabinet berth. In November, Kushwaha surprised everyone by naming Deepak for the ministership despite having four MLAs from his party.
Nishant's Entry into Politics
Nishant joined active politics only on March 8 after Nitish decided to quit the Chief Minister's post and become a Rajya Sabha member. Reports suggest that a reluctant Nishant, who is not a member of either House and has been on a 'Sadbhav Yatra' in the state, agreed to assume the ministerial role following a meeting at Nitish's residence on Wednesday between Union Minister Rajeev Ranjan Singh and JD(U) National Working President Sanjay Kumar Jha.
Sources said they convinced Nishant that his being part of the ministry will not only strengthen the party further but also give him governance experience. JD(U) considers Nishant the future Chief Minister face in Bihar, and as a minister, he will keep the BJP leadership under pressure to follow the Nitish model in Bihar.
BJP's Arrangements
BJP has made elaborate arrangements to make the event big, as the party has its own Chief Minister in Bihar for the first time. Hundreds of BJP workers and local residents will line up along the route from Patna airport to Gandhi Maidan to greet Prime Minister Modi, who is likely to visit or pass by the party headquarters before reaching the venue, said BJP State President Sanjay Saraogi. Top BJP leaders could not attend the swearing-in ceremony of Chief Minister Samrat at Lok Bhavan on April 15 due to their preoccupation with elections in West Bengal and four other states.
Cabinet Berths and Quotas
JD(U) is also likely to keep vacant at least three cabinet berths of its quota of 16 for the future. Among the 11 JD(U) ministers to take oath will be new faces of Nishant, Shailesh Kumar alias Bulo Mandal, and Bhagwan Singh Kushwaha, besides Shrawan Kumar, Leshi Singh, Ashok Choudhary, Sunil Kumar, Sheela Mandal, Madan Sahni, Ratnesh Sada, and Zama Khan. Vijay Kumar Choudhary and Bijendra Prasad Yadav are already the two Deputy Chief Ministers from JD(U), which will have four ministers from OBCs, three each from EBCs and Dalits, two from upper castes, and one from the Muslim community.
