JD(U) chief Nitish Kumar will on Monday take oath as Bihar chief minister for the fourth straight term. The swearing-in would take place between 4 and 4.30 P.M. at Raj Bhavan on Monday. Union Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP president Jagat Prakash Nadda will attend the ceremony. The two leaders are reaching Patna by a chartered flight.
The BJP is likely to get two Deputy Chief Ministers and the post of Speaker in the new Assembly.
Here is a probable list of ministers who are likely to take oath with Kumar today:
JD(U)
Nitish Kumar (CM)
Bijender Yadav
Vijay Chaudhary
Ashok Choudhary
Mewa Lal Choudhary
Sheila Kumari
BJP
Tarkishore Prasad (Deputy CM)
Renu Devi (Deputy CM)
Jiwesh Mishra
Upendra Pratap
Ramsurat Rai
Ramprit Paswan
Mangal Pandey
VIP
Mukesh Sahni
HAM-S
Santosh Manjhi
The opposition RJD is boycotting the ceremony, saying that the mandate for change is against the NDA. Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Tejashwi Yadav will not attend the oath-taking ceremony of Nitish Kumar to be held in Patna today.
Prasad on Monday morning acknowledged that there are indications that he will take oath as Nitish's deputy.
"There are indications that Renu ji and I will take oath as Deputy Chief Ministers of Bihar," Prasad said.
Reesponding to questions by reporters, Renu Devi said, "It is a big responsibility. If people have elected us and trusted the NDA, we will work to meet their expectations."
BJP is likely to get the most number of ministerial berths. HAM president Jitan Ram Manjhi, a former Chief Minister, has ruled himself out of joining the new ministry and is said to be lobbying for his son Santosh Suman who is a member of the legislative council.
The VIP, another constituent of the NDA, is in a peculiar position as all its four MLAs are said to be BJP cadre who fought on the fledgling outfit's symbol, while the two-year-old party's founding president Mukesh Sahni, a former Bollywood set designer, himself lost in the elections.
The BJP is also keen on having one of its members as the Speaker, a post which has been with the Kumar's party ever since he took over a decade and a half ago. The BJP has proposed the name of former deputy speaker, Ara MLA Amrendra Pratap Singh, as the new Speaker of the Assembly. The present speaker, Vijay Kumar Chaudhary, of the JD(U) will be inducted into the cabinet.
National Democratic Alliance claimed victory this Bihar 2020 elections, boasting 125 seats in the 243 strong Bihar Legislative Assembly with Bhartiya Janata Party and JD(U) winning 74 and 43 seats respectively.
