Nishant Kumar, the son of former Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, who joined Janata Dal (United) in March, is likely to be among the 27 leaders set to take oath as ministers in the new Cabinet led by Samrat Choudhary on Thursday, sources told India Today TV.
Choudhary became Bihar’s first BJP Chief Minister on April 15 after Nitish Kumar stepped down and moved to the Rajya Sabha and is now moving ahead with the expansion of his Cabinet.
Among the 27 leaders expected to take an oath as ministers, 12 – including Nishant Kumar – are likely to be from Janata Dal (United). Nishant Kumar’s induction is being viewed as a major political development, indicating a possible generational transition within the party.
Several senior JD(U) leaders are also expected to join the expanded Cabinet, including Shravan Kumar, Ashok Choudhary, Leshi Singh, Madan Sahni, Zama Khan, Sunil Kumar, Sheela Mandal, Ratnesh Sada, Bulo Mandal, Bhagwan Singh Kushwaha, Damodar Rawat, and Nishant Kumar.
Meanwhile, Bijendra Prasad Yadav and Vijay Choudhary have already been sworn in as Deputy Chief Ministers.
According to sources, the Cabinet expansion is likely to reflect a balanced power-sharing arrangement among the NDA allies. Bharatiya Janata Party, the largest party in the alliance, is expected to secure around 12 ministerial positions. Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) may receive three berths, while smaller allies such as Hindustani Awam Morcha and Rashtriya Lok Janata Dal are likely to get one berth each.
From the Bharatiya Janata Party, leaders such as Vijay Kumar Sinha, Mangal Pandey, Dilip Jaiswal, Shreyasi Singh, Arun Shankar Prasad, Lakhindra Paswan and Ram Kripal Yadav are among those being considered for induction into the Cabinet.
Among NDA allies, Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) is likely to induct Sanjay Kumar and Sanjay Kumar Singh, while Hindustani Awam Morcha, led by Jitan Ram Manjhi, may nominate Santosh Suman. Rashtriya Lok Janata Dal is expected to be represented by Deepak Prakash.
The swearing-in ceremony is expected to take place at Gandhi Maidan, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi scheduled to arrive in Patna around 11:30 am on Thursday.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah has already reached Patna and is expected to finalise the BJP’s list of ministers. Union Ministers Rajnath Singh and JP Nadda are also likely to attend the high-profile ceremony.
The upcoming event stands in sharp contrast to the low-profile oath ceremony held on April 15, when Samrat Choudhary took office at Lok Bhawan, as senior BJP leaders were then occupied with campaigning for the recent Assembly elections.
With large-scale preparations, tight security arrangements and expectations of a huge gathering at Gandhi Maidan, the NDA appears eager to showcase unity, strength and stability as it enters a new phase in Bihar politics.