Nitish Kumar is set to be sworn in as Prime Minister of Bihar for the fourth time on Monday. The constituents of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), which won the Bihar Assembly elections, approved Kumar’s name for the top post at a meeting on Sunday.
Then he went to meet with the governor and demanded the formation of the next government in the state. However, now all eyes are on the cabinet and the new additions, if any.
On Sunday, Kumar along with Party leaders Bharatiya Janata (BJP) and Janata Dal (United) or JD (U) held meetings to discuss the likely size of the cabinet.
People familiar with the developments said that there are chances that the JD (U) who has 43 MLA could get 12 ministerial positions, while the BJP who has 74 MLA could get 18 ministers with a ministerial position assigned to both the Vikasheel Insaan Party (VIP) and Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM).
The number of ministers could increase in the coming months, the people cited above added.
According to the leaders of the NDA, the allocation of ministerial seats to the allies is done with the formula of assigning two seats for every seven seats that the party has won.
On that basis, the JD (U) can expect to get 14 ministerial posts to 20 for the BJP.
The maximum number of ministers in the cabinet allowed in the government is 36, as the size of the council of ministers can be only 15% of the total number of seats in the Assembly, which amounts to 243.
Meanwhile, Tarkishore Prasad, who was elected leader of the BJP legislative party on Sunday, is widely inclined to replace Sushil Kumar Modi as senior deputy minister. The name of Renu Devi, a leader of the Extremely Backward Caste (EBC), is also circulating for the post of chief deputy minister. She was named the deputy party leader of the BJP legislature on Sunday.
The PTI news agency reported that Nitish Kumar could get two top deputy ministers, as in neighboring Uttar Pradesh, and that Prasad and Renu Devi could rise as a step in that direction.
HAM President Jitan Ram Manjhi, a former prime minister, has been ruled out to join the new ministry and is said to be lobbying for his son Santosh Suman, who is a member of the legislative council, PTI reported.
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