Portfolios were allocated on Saturday in the new Bihar cabinet headed by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar who retained Home department, while BJP leaders and deputy Chief Ministers Samrat Choudhary and Vijay Sinha were handed over the crucial finance and agriculture portfolios respectively.
According to a notification, Kumar’s portfolios included General Administration, Cabinet Secretariat, vigilance, and all other unallocated portfolios with himself.
Besides finance, Choudhary was allocated health, commercial taxes, urban development and housing department, Sports, Panchayati Raj, Industry, Animal and Fisheries resources as well as planning.
Sinha was handed over the departments of Building construction, Revenue and land reforms, Sugarcane, Mines and Geology, Labour resources, Art, Culture and Youth, Minor Water Resources and Public Health Engineering.
Minister Vijay Kumar Chaudhary will oversee Parliamentary Affairs, Transport, Education and Information and Public Relations, while Vijendra Prasad Yadav is the new energy minister.
Prem Kumar has been allocated Backward Class and Economically Backward Class Welfare, Disaster Management Environment, Forest and Climate Change and Tourism.
Shravan Kumar will oversee Rural Development and Social welfare, while Santosh Kumar Suman has been handed over Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe Welfare and Science, Technology and Technical Education.
JD(U) leader Nitish Kumar returned to the NDA on Sunday (January 28) returned to the NDA, less than 18 months after he left the ‘gathbandhan’ , and took oath as the Bihar Chief Minister for the ninth time. Along with him the two BJP leaders Choudhary and Sinha also took oath as deputy Chief Ministers.