Patna (Bihar) [India], May 8 (HBTV): The Bihar government witnessed a major cabinet expansion on Thursday as 32 ministers, including senior leaders and first-time entrants, were inducted into the Council of Ministers at a ceremony held at Gandhi Maidan in Patna.
The expansion comes after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) formed the government in Bihar, with Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary strengthening the administrative structure following a decisive electoral mandate.
The swearing-in ceremony was attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, BJP National President Nitin Nabin and several senior NDA leaders.
As part of the expansion, leaders from the BJP (15), Janata Dal (United) (13), Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) (2), Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) (1) and Rashtriya Lok Morcha (1) were inducted into the Council of Ministers.
The BJP ministers who took oath include Ram Kripal Yadav, Kedar Gupta, Nitish Mishra, Mithlesh Tiwari, Rama Nishad, Vijay Kumar Sinha, Dilip Jaiswal, Pramod Chandravanshi, Lakhvinder Paswan, Sanjay Singh (Tiger), Engineer Kumar Shailendra, Nand Kishore Ram, Ramchandra Prasad, Arun Shankar Prasad and Shreyasi Singh.
The JD(U) ministers who took oath include Nishant Kumar, Shravan Kumar, Madan Sahni, Lesi Singh, Shweta Gupta, Bhagwan Singh Kushwaha, Damodar Rawat, Bulo Mandal, Sunil Kumar, Sheila Mandal, Ratnesh Sada, Jama Khan and Ashok Choudhary.
The Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) ministers who took oath include Sanjay Paswan and Sanjay Singh, marking the party’s representation in the expanded cabinet.
A key highlight of the reshuffle was the induction of JD(U) leader Nishant Kumar, son of former Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, marking his entry into active politics and ministerial responsibilities.
‘I express my gratitude to the people of Bihar for ensuring NDA’s victory in the 2025 elections. Now, I will work under the leadership of Samrat Choudhary. I will strive to fulfil my promise to provide employment to 1 crore people. I will endeavour to improve every sector—industry, agriculture, education and healthcare. Through my work, I will strive to earn the blessings, love and trust of the people,’ Nishant Kumar said.
Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary has been assigned key departments, including General Administration, Home, Secretariat, Vigilance and other unallocated portfolios.
Deputy Chief Minister Vijay Kumar Choudhary has been given Water Resources and Parliamentary Affairs, while Deputy Chief Minister Bijendra Prasad Yadav will handle Finance, Energy and Planning.
Shravan Kumar has been allotted Rural Development and Transport, Vijay Kumar Sinha Agriculture and Dilip Kumar Jaiswal Revenue and Land Reforms. Nityanand Rai has been given Health, Mangal Pandey Building Construction and Ram Kripal Yadav Cooperation.
Nitish Mishra will handle Industries and Public Enterprises, while Nand Kishore Yadav has been assigned Environment, Forest and Climate Change. Ashok Choudhary has been given Disaster Management and Minor Water Resources, while Bhagwan Singh Kushwaha will oversee Social Welfare, Planning and Development.
Arun Shankar Prasad has been assigned Labour Resources, Youth and Sports and Skill Development, while Santosh Kumar Suman will handle SC/ST Welfare. Ratnesh Sada has been given Excise, Kumar Sarvjeet Tourism and Shweta Gupta Social Welfare.
Mithilesh Tiwari has been assigned Education, Ramchandra Prasad Environment, Forest and Climate Change and Sanjay Kumar Singh Public Health Engineering. Deepak Prakash has been given Panchayati Raj.
Former Chief Minister Nitish Kumar congratulated the newly inducted ministers and expressed confidence that the cabinet would work effectively for public welfare and development under the leadership of Samrat Choudhary. (ANI)