Bihar CM Nitish Kumar expands Cabinet, inducts seven new faces from BJP

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Wednesday expanded his cabinet, with the induction of seven new faces, all from the alliance partner BJP.

 

At a ceremony held in the Raj Bhavan here, Governor Arif Mohammad Khan administered the oath of office to the new inductees who raised the strength of the Cabinet to 36.

 

Those who took the oath of office were Jibesh Kumar, Sanjay Saraogi, Sunil Kumar, Raju Kumar Singh, Moti Lal Prasad, Vijay Kumar Mandal and Krishna Kumar Mantu.

 

Earlier in the day, Bihar BJP president Dilip Jaiswal resigned from the Cabinet to conform with his party's policy of 'one person, one post'.

"I am going to resign from the post of Revenue Minister. 'One person, one post' is the principle on which the party works. I am thankful that the central leadership has given me the responsibility of the party's state unit," Jaiswal told ANI.

 

Jaiswal was appointed BJP's Bihar state president on January 18. His resignation could lead to further reshuffling in Nitish Kumar's cabinet, with an expansion expected ahead of the elections later this year.

Speaking about the cabinet expansion, Jaiswal said, "It is the prerogative of the Chief Minister."

Meanwhile, Bihar CM Nitish Kumar's son, Nishant Kumar, has urged the people of Bihar to support his father in the upcoming elections.

"I urge the people of Bihar to vote for Bihar CM Nitish Kumar as he has done a lot of development in the state. Last time, people gave 43 seats. The public should ensure that we win more seats in the elections so that we can continue the pace of development," Nishant Kumar said.

He further called on JD(U) workers to take Nitish Kumar's policies and achievements from the past 19 years to the people of Bihar.