Not all ministers of the Bihar cabinet will take oath on Thursday as the BJP and the JD (U) are still ironing out contentious issues like the name of the Speaker of the Bihar assembly along with which of the two partners will retain some key departments.
While JD(U) patriarch Nitish Kumar is set to take oath as the Bihar Chief Minister for a record 10th time, highly-placed sources said that Kumar had made it clear to the BJP leadership that his party will retain the post of the Bihar assembly Speaker this time.
News X had reported on Tuesday that since the JD (U) has doubled its tally of MLAs, it is eyeing an increased share in the Bihar cabinet along with some important portfolios that had earlier existed with the BJP which had kept most of the important portfolios with it in the previous Bihar cabinet.
“Few ministers will only take oath on Thursday as discussions about some important portfolios are still continuing. Further, the main issue that is being discussed is which party would retain the post of the Bihar assembly Speaker as both parties have laid their claim on the post,” a senior NDA leader told News X.
The leader said that while Nitish Kumar is set to take oath as the CM, two deputy CMs from the BJP will take oath too along with the ministers from the NDA alliance partners LJP-RV, HAM-S and RLM.
Maharashtra experience: Why Nitish wants to retain the Speaker’s post at any cost
One of the biggest issues that the opposition Mahagathbandhan had raised during the Bihar assembly election was the allegation that the BJP intended to have its own CM and would not let Nitish Kumar be the CM if it emerges as the single largest party after the elections.
While the BJP has emerged as the single largest party in Bihar on November 14, the JD (U) too has thrilled political watchers with a stunning performance registering 85 seats, only four less than the BJP which bagged a total of 89 seats.
A senior JD (U) leader said that Nitish Kumar wants to avoid an “Operation Maharashtra” in Bihar at any cost and Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s comment in the run-up to the polls and has been keeping his guards up since then.
Speaking at a media conclave organised by a media house, Shah had remarked in October: “Who am I to make someone the Chief Minister of Bihar?…This (NDA) is an alliance of so many parties. After the election, when everyone will sit together….all parties and the legislative party chiefs will sit together and decide on their leader (CM). Right now, we are fighting the election under Nitish Kumar ji’s leadership,” he said.
While this was viewed as the BJP’s assertion of power in Bihar by the Nitish Kumar loyalists in the JD (U), the statement had alerted the JD (U).
While RJD’s Tejashwi Yadav had repeatedly taunted Nitish Kumar over the possibility of a different CM after 2025 Bihar polls throughout the poll campaign, the statement had led to Nitish Kumar loyalists thinking that there could be “a repeat of Maharashtra” in Bihar too- a hint at the possibility of the BJP replacing Nitish Kumar as the CM by attempting a divide in the JD (U).
“Nitish ji is a very seasoned politician and knows that if such a situation ever arises, the role of the Speaker would be very important which is why he has put his foot down for the post of the Speaker. Discussions took place on the issue between the top two JD (U) leaders Lalan Singh and Sanjay Jha who met Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday too but the matter could not be resolved. Shah arrived at Kumar’s Patna residence on Wednesday to iron out the key contentious issues between the two alliance partners and finalise the distribution of key portfolios.
The discussions were being held till the filing of the story.
Highly-placed NDA sources said that the role of the Speaker will become very important as it is the Speaker who decides when to disqualify an MLA in case he or she jumps ship.
“The Speaker’s role becomes very important in case an MLA jumps ship. It is the Speaker who decides when to disqualify such an MLA. The Speaker can also keep the decision of such a suspension pending in case he or she wants. Nitish ji would want to avoid any such scenario where JD(U) MLAs can think of jumping ship in case his MLAs are poached in future which is why he wants the Speaker of his own choice. Someone whom he can rely on,” a senior Bihar NDA leader said.
While the BJP had wanted its senior leader and cooperative minister Prem Kumar to be the Speaker, Kumar intends that senior JD (U) leader Narendra Narayan Yadav should be the Speaker.
Along with the issue of the Speaker, the BJP and JD(U) are also discussing which party would take the key portfolios in the Bihar cabinet.
“Most of the key portfolios like finance, commercial tax, excise, road construction, urban development, etc were retained by the BJP last time as the difference between the tally of the JD (U) and the BJP was very high. However, this time, the JD (U) has got 85 seats which is just four less than the BJP. So, the BJP will have to give some important portfolios to JD (U),” a senior NDA leader told News X.
It is for this reason that all ministers won’t take oath along with Nitish Kumar on Thursday and the cabinet will be expanded later on, the leader said.
On Wednesday, there was a buzz in the JD (U) camp that the BJP had even demanded the home portfolio from JD (U) – a demand the CM would never accede to.
Bihar BJP leaders however dismissed the buzz as “pure rumour-mongering.”
“This is pure rumour-mongering. The discussion over distribution of portfolios is happening smoothly and the NDA is set to serve the people of Bihar as a united front,” a Bihar BJP leader told News X.
Meanwhile, BJP MLAs choosing Samrat Choudhary as the leader of the party’s legislature party sealed the fate of Choudhary who is most likely to be repeated as the deputy CM.
