Nitish Kumar's son Nishant Kumar takes oath as minister in Bihar

Nishant Kumar joined the Samrat Choudhary-led NDA government in Bihar along with 31 others, marking his formal entry into politics and the state cabinet

Nishant Kumar, the 50-year-old son of former Bihar Chief Minister and Janata Dal (United) chief Nitish Kumar, on Thursday took oath as a minister in the Samrat Choudhary-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government in Bihar along with 31 others at a function at Patna’s Gandhi Maidan.

 

Of the 32 who took oath, 15 were from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), 13 from the Janata Dal (United), two from the Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas), and one each from the Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) and Rashtriya Lok Morcha (RLM).

 

From HAM, Santosh Kumar Suman, son of Union Minister and party chief Jitan Ram Manjhi, and Deepak Prakash, son of RLM chief Upendra Kushwaha, also took oath. The two were part of the Nitish Kumar-led council of ministers that had taken oath in November.

 

 

JD(U)’s Vijay Kumar Chaudhary and Bijendra Prasad Yadav had taken oath in April along with Samrat Choudhary and were designated as deputy chief ministers. Nitish Kumar stepped down as the Bihar chief minister in April and was elected to the Rajya Sabha. Nishant Kumar has become a minister for the first time and will need to be elected to either of the two Houses of the Bihar legislature within six months.

 

Nishant Kumar’s entry into politics is aimed at ensuring continuity in the JD(U), where a team is being put in place to assist him, and retaining the NDA’s support base among the Kurmis, along with Koeris-Kushwahas, called Luv-Kush in Bihar. Chief Minister Choudhary is a Kushwaha. The expanded council of ministers now has nine members each from the Economically Backward Classes, Other Backward Classes, and upper castes, seven Dalits, and one Muslim. It has five women, including three from the JD(U).

 

The BJP emerged as the single-largest party for the first time in Bihar with 89 seats out of a total of 243 in the Assembly polls, the counting for which took place on November 14, 2025. Among its allies, the Janata Dal (United) won 85 seats, the LJP (R) 19, HAM 5, and RLM 4. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, other senior Union ministers, and leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party attended the ceremony.