Bihar new Cabinet: Preparations are underway for a new NDA government in Bihar. Chief Minister Nitish Kumar will hold the final Cabinet meeting on Monday at 11:30 am, where the ministers are expected to clear a proposal to dissolve the current Cabinet. After this approval, Nitish Kumar will go to Governor Arif Mohammad Khan to submit his resignation.
During the meeting, a resolution will be passed allowing Nitish Kumar to visit Raj Bhavan with the formal request to dissolve the outgoing Assembly, a senior JD(U) leader said.
This step comes a day after Chief Electoral Officer Vinod Singh Gunjiyal met the Governor and handed over the list of newly elected MLAs from the recently concluded Assembly elections, which the NDA won decisively.
Nitish Kumar likely to take oath as CM, No decision on Deputy CM yet
According to The Indian Express, there is an internal agreement in the BJP that Nitish Kumar will stay on as Chief Minister, as his image and work played a major role in the NDA’s huge victory. But the party has not yet decided who the new Deputy Chief Minister will be.
Outgoing Deputy CM Samrat Choudhary has faced accusations of corruption and false details in his poll affidavit, first raised by Jan Suraaj leader Prashant Kishor and later by former Union Minister RK Singh. This led to doubts within the party about whether he would return to the post, people familiar with the discussions said.
However, other BJP leaders argued that the NDA’s strong mandate and Choudhary’s win from Tarapur show that voters did not believe these allegations. They also noted that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had mentioned both Choudhary and Vijay Kumar Sinha, the other Deputy CM in the outgoing government, while thanking NDA leaders in his victory speech.
What does the seat sharing formula hint?
The BJP and the JD(U) contested the same number of seats in the Bihar Assembly elections, 101 each, and an early proposal discussed within the NDA suggests that both parties may get an equal share of ministerial positions in the new government, according to IE. Under this plan, Chirag Paswan’s Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) could receive two ministries, while Upendra Kushwaha’s Rashtriya Lok Morcha (RLM) and Jitan Ram Manjhi’s Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) may each get one.
A source told The Indian Express that this idea is currently being examined and that the alliance is also considering big changes in which departments are allotted to each party. The newly elected JD(U) MLAs are scheduled to meet in Patna on Monday. After that, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar is expected to call on the Governor and step down, clearing the way for the formation of the new government. According to IE sources, BJP MLAs will likely meet on Tuesday.
NDA’s sweeping victory in Bihar Elections 2025
In the final tally, the BJP won 89 seats, JD(U) got 85, LJP (RV) secured 19, HAM(S) won five, and RLM finished with four. In comparison, during the 2020 elections, the BJP led the NDA with 74 seats while JD(U) had 43. In the outgoing government, the BJP had 22 ministers, whereas the JD(U) held 12.
