New Delhi: Nitish Kumar steered his Janata Dal to a decisive victory in last week’s Bihar election, securing 85 of the state’s 243 seats – 42 more than its 2015 performance and only four fewer than ally BJP – and maintained his grip on the Chief Minister’s position, but the seasoned politician won’t have complete control.
The 74-year-old has relinquished the Home Ministry portfolio, which he held for nearly two decades, to Bharatiya Janata Party leader Samrat Choudhary, who continues as the JDU chief’s deputy.
Vijay Sinha, the other BJP leader and Deputy Chief Minister, has received the Revenue and Mines ministries in assignments confirmed Friday night. BJP leaders were also assigned the crucial Agriculture (Ram Kripal Yadav), Backward Classes Welfare (Rama Nishad), Disaster Management (Narayan Prasad), Industries (Dilip Jaiswal), and Labour (Sanjay Singh Tiger) portfolios.
Former Bihar BJP chief Mangal Pandey has been given a dual responsibility – Health and Law.
Additional portfolios allocated to the BJP include Road and Housing (Nitin Nabin), SC & ST Welfare (Lakhendra Raushan), Tourism (Arun Shankar Prasad), IT and Sports (Shreyasi Singh), Fisheries and Animal Resources (Surendra Mehata), and Environment and Climate Change (Pramod Kumar).
The JDU received the Social Welfare (Madan Sahni), Rural Works (Ashok Choudhary), Food and Consumer Protection (Leshi Singh), Rural Development and Transport (Shrawon Kumar), Water Resources (VK Choudhary), Energy (Vijendra Yadav), and Education (Sunil Kumar) positions.
Smaller coalition partners received the Sugarcane Industry and Public Health Engineering departments (allocated to the Lok Janshakti Party), the Minor Water Resources (to the Hindustan Awam Morcha), and Panchayati Raj (to the Rashtriya Lok Manch).
Nitish’s Home Ministry Transfer
Nitish Kumar initially assumed control of Bihar’s Home Department – among the most coveted in any state or federal setup in India – in November 2005 and has retained it almost continuously since then.
The sole exception occurred between May 2014 and February 2015; he stepped down after the JDU performed poorly in the 2014 federal election and Hindustan Awam Morcha’s Jitan Manjhi assumed both roles.
Transferring it to the BJP, consequently, has been interpreted as a significant gesture, including recognition that the saffron party is the ‘big brother’, at least currently, in their alliance.
The BJP and JDU also contested the 2020 election as partners. During that contest, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s party captured 74 seats, one less than the opposition Rashtriya Janata Dal.
The JDU, however, suffered a setback, losing 28 seats to finish a distant third.
Speculation emerged that the BJP would leverage its advantage to claim the Chief Minister’s position from Nitish. That scenario didn’t materialize; Nitish retained the role and the Home Minister portfolio but accepted two deputies from the BJP. Five years later, the JDU has recovered.
There is now no question about Nitish Kumar returning as Chief Minister.
The BJP, though, remains the larger entity in the coalition, a reality emphasized by its having 14 representatives in the first configuration of the tenth Nitish Kumar cabinet. The JDU, in contrast, has only nine.
Surrendering the Home Ministry also indicates the beginning of a post-Nitish Bihar political landscape, with the 57-year-old Samrat Choudhary possibly being prepared to assume leadership in the future.
Nitish Kumar faced questions regarding his physical and mental capacity during this campaign, and removing this portfolio suggests the governing coalition has initiated a form of succession planning.
Taking it from the JDU leader (and not assigning him any specific charge) could also enable him, some analysts have suggested, to concentrate on broader issues, namely governance rather than incorporating the law-and-order situation, particularly with the ‘jungle raj’ label never far from discussion.
Nitish Kumar 10.0
Nitish Kumar was inaugurated as Chief Minister for a record-extending tenth time on Thursday.
The JDU chief – criticized by detractors as too elderly and unsuitable for power – had the final victory at Patna’s Gandhi Maidan. And he will have another if he completes his term, as he will then become India’s longest-serving Chief Minister, surpassing the record established by Sikkim’s Pawan Chamling.
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