Nitish Kumar to take oath as Bihar CM for 8th time, Tejashwi to be his deputy; All eyes on cabinet expansion

The political crisis in Bihar thickened on Tuesday when Chief Minister Nitish Kumar announced that he will be ending JD(U)’s alliance with the Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) opening the way for the formation of the Mahagathbandhan alliance with the RJD and Congress in the state. The JDU-RJD-led 'Mahagathbandhan' will take oath at 2 PM on Wednesday.

The JDU will retain the ministerial positions it held in the previous regime in the new Mahagatbandhan cabinet.

Finance, Urban Development and Housing, Disaster Management, Environment & Forest, Information Technology, BC & EBC Welfare, Industry, Panchayat Raj, Health, Road Construction, Art, Culture & Youth Affairs, Agriculture, Co-operatives, Sugar Cane Industries, Animal Husbandry & Fisheries, Tourism, Law, Transport, Revenue & Land Reforms, Public Health Engineering Department, Mines & Geology, and Labour Resources will be shared by Congress, RJD, and other parties.

The portfolios allotted to BJP ministers will go to Lalu Prasad’s RJD, while the Janata Dal-United (JDU)’s quote will stay with the party. From the Congress, Madan Mohan Jha, Ajeet Sharma, and Shakil Ahmed Khan may be a part of the cabinet.

The Panchayati Raj and Transport Department ministers are likely to change though General Administration Department and Home will remain with Nitish Kumar.

The Congress has 19 MLAs in the 243-member Bihar Assembly while the JD(U) has 43, RJD 79, CPI(ML) 12, and CPI and CPI(M) each have two legislators. 

Ahead of the swearing-in ceremony of the Mahagatbandhan government, RJD tweeted, "The rising dictatorship which is engulfing Indian democracy has started to come down. Once again, Bihar has shown the way to the country." 

भारतीय लोकतंत्र पर चढ़ रही तानाशाही की परत उतरने की शुरुआत हो चुकी है।

एक बार फिर बिहार ने ही देश को रास्ता दिखाया है!!@yadavtejashwi जी को साधुवाद! pic.twitter.com/zofWmiS1Cv

— Rashtriya Janata Dal (@RJDforIndia) August 10, 2022

Taking a jab at the BJP, Congress communications in-charge Jairam Ramesh compared the change of guard in Bihar to that in Maharashtra, which saw Shiv Sena MLAs revolt and spends time in resorts outside the state.

The BJP, on the other hand, accused the Bihar chief minister of "insulting and betraying" the people's mandate, claiming that his "prime ministerial ambition" is the reason for the JD(U) decision to leave the NDA and join forces with the state's RJD-led opposition.

Speaking to the media, former Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said, "Nitish Kumar has been a non-Congress leader. His politics is around non-Congressism. Is that finished? Compromise with corruption and non-Congressism! Nitish Kumar sided with corruption and Congressism. Congratulations. People will give a reply in LS and Assembly polls." 

Nitish Kumar has been a non-Congress leader. His politics is around non-Congressism. Is that finished? Compromise with corruption&non-Congressism! Nitish Kumar sided with corruption & Congressism. Congratulations. People will give a reply in LS & Aseembly polls: BJP MP RS Prasad pic.twitter.com/c7EMtPLnMq

— ANI (@ANI) August 10, 2022

"Nitish Kumar is a migratory bird. It is their nature to jump from one branch to another. By mistake, some birds have gathered on a branch. Who does not know when to fly where, it is only a matter of a few days", Haryana Home Minister Anil Vij said. 

नीतीश कुमार एक प्रवासी पक्षी हैं । एक डाल से दूसरी डाल पर फुदकना इनकी फितरत है । गलती से कुछ पक्षी एक डाल पर इकठ्ठे हो गए है ।कौन कब कहां उड़ जाए पता नही है बस थोड़े दिन को बात है ।

— ANIL VIJ MINISTER HARYANA (@anilvijminister) August 10, 2022

Nitish Kumar will also create a unique record today as he will be sworn in as the CM for the 8th time. The earlier occasions when he took oath as the CM are- March 2000, November 2005, November 2010, February 2015, November 2015, July 2017, and November 2020.