Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar is set to expand his Council of Ministers on Sunday with the likely induction off our new Ministers from the Janata Dal(U), party officials said on Saturday.
Earlier, Mr. Kumar called on Governor Lalji Tandon amid reports that he would expand his government to fill four ministerial berths, including the vacancies created by three Ministers who had resigned after being elected to the Lok Sabha last month.
One post fell vacant last year after Manju Verma resigned as Social Welfare Minister in connection with the Muzaffarpur shelter-home sexual abuse case.
Mr. Kumar’s meeting with the Governor came a day after the JD(U) leader had made it clear that none of his party MPs would join Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government in the future.
The Cabinet expansion is likely to take place at 11 a.m. on Sunday at the Raj Bhavan, with four JD(U) leaders considered close to Mr. Kumar set to become Ministers, a party official said on condition of anonymity.
With only 25 Ministers in the 243-member Assembly, the Ministry is below full strength.
“There could be 11 more Ministers in the Cabinet but tomorrow only four are likely to take oath,” said a JD(U) leader, who declined to be identified.
JD(U) leaders Ashok Chaudhury, Sanjay Jha, Ranju Geeta, Neeraj Kumar and Lallan Paswan are among the contenders widely tipped to become Ministers. However, no names from the State’s ruling alliance partner, the BJP, have come up as yet for possible inclusion.
Miffed ally
Mr. Kumar is said to be upset with the BJP leadership for their offer of “symbolic representation” instead of “proportional representation” in the Union Ministry.
“All along during the NDA government formation, even in State government, we have been following proportional representation,” Mr. Kumar told presspersons on Friday.
Mr. Chaudhury, earlier a State Congress president and an education minister in the mahagathbandhan government, had joined the JD(U) after Mr. Kumar left the mahagathbandhan and joined hands with the BJP. Mr. Jha is considered close to Mr. Kumar and took oath as a party MLC about three days ago. Mr. Jha was said to have wanted to contest the Lok Sabha poll from Darbhanga but had to refrain from doing so as the seat had gone to the BJP under the NDA seat sharing pact.
Ms. Geeta is JD(U) MLA from Bajpatti in Sitamarhi district and she is likely to be State’s next Social Welfare Minister.
Party MLC and spokesperson Neeraj Kumar is said to be close to senior party leader Rajiv Ranjan Singh alias Lalan Singh who was recently elected to the Lok Sabha from Munger.
Mr. Paswan had recently joined the JD(U) along with other Rashtriya Lok Samata Party (RLSP) leaders and had supported the chief minister in his political battle with the RLSP chief Upendra Kushwaha. “Lallan Paswan and Neeraj Kumar may be rewarded by ministerial berths this time for their continuous support to Nitish Kumar,” said a JD(U) leader, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Earlier, three ministers including Mr. Singh and Dinesh Chandra Yadav of the JD(U) and Lok Janshakti Party State president Pashupati Kumar Paras had won Lok Sabha elections from Munger, Madhepura and Hajipur.
