Bihar Cabinet Expansion: Balanced Team Formed Under CM Samrat Choudhary

Speaking to reporters, Manjhi said, "A new council of ministers has been formed in Bihar under the leadership of Samrat Choudhary. We congratulate them. A very balanced council of ministers has been formed, with attention given to all sectors, all sections of society, and Samrat Choudhary's zeal to take Bihar forward. Under the guidance of Nitish Kumar, Bihar will progress even further--we got a glimpse of that today."

On the inclusion of Nishant Kumar in the cabinet, Manjhi said that he had earlier worked as a party worker and expressed confidence that he would perform effectively as a minister.

"He was a party worker, so he has been made a minister... He is a balanced person; we believe he will do good work," he added.

BJP MP Rajiv Pratap Rudy also praised the formation of the new Council of Ministers, saying the presence of former Chief Minister Nitish Kumar at the ceremony added significance to the occasion and reflected the NDA's strength.

"Nitish Kumar's presence on this occasion truly added to the grandeur of the event. With 32 ministers joining the Cabinet in the presence of Samrat Choudhary, the strength of the NDA has emerged clearly today. The governance of Bihar is currently being discussed across the entire nation, and I am confident that this new Council of Ministers, comprising a significant number of representatives from the younger generation, will take the 'Bihar governance model' to every corner of India; this was clearly evident on the stage today. Congratulations to all the Cabinet ministers and the Government of Bihar," Rudy told reporters.

Rudy called Nishant Kumar's induction positive, confident in his performance. "It is indeed good news that he has joined the Council of Ministers. We are confident that, upholding the virtues of his father, he will demonstrate his capabilities within the government. Once again, congratulations to Nishant Kumar," he told reporters.

Meanwhile, the Bihar government witnessed a major cabinet expansion on Thursday, with several senior leaders and first-time entrants inducted into the Council of Ministers during a ceremony held at Gandhi Maidan in Patna.

The expansion comes after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) came to power in Bihar, with the NDA government led by Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary strengthening its administrative structure following a decisive electoral mandate.

The swearing-in ceremony was attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, BJP National President Nitin Nabin, and other senior NDA leaders, marking a major political show of strength by the ruling alliance.

The expansion included leaders from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Janata Dal (United) (JD-U), Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas), Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) and other National Democratic Alliance (NDA) allies, who joined the BJP-led government under Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary.

The BJP inductees who took oath in the Bihar cabinet include Ram Kripal Yadav, Kedar Gupta, Nitish Mishra, Mithlesh Tiwari, Rama Nishad, Vijay Kumar Sinha, Dilip Jaiswal, Pramod Chandravanshi, Lakhvinder Paswan, Sanjay Singh Tiger, Engineer Kumar Shailendra, Nand Kishore Ram, Ramchandra Prasad, Arun Shankar Prasad and Shreyasi Singh.

The JD(U) ministers who took oath include Nishant Kumar, Shravan Kumar, Madan Sahni, Lesi Singh, Shweta Gupta, Bhagwan Singh Kushwaha, Damodar Rawat and Bulo Mandal.

They were joined by Sunil Kumar, Sheila Mandal, Ratnesh Sada, Jama Khan and Ashok Choudhary, completing the list of JD(U) leaders who took oath in the expanded Bihar cabinet.

The LJP (Ram Vilas) ministers who took oath include Sanjay Paswan and Sanjay Singh, marking the party's representation in the expanded Bihar cabinet.

From the HAM(S), Santosh Suman was sworn in as a minister in the Samrat Choudhary-led government.

Meanwhile, from the Rashtriya Lok Morcha (RLM), Deepak Prakash also took oath as part of the cabinet expansion in Patna.

- ANI