Nitish Kumar-Led NDA Govt To Soon Expand Cabinet, BJP Eyes House Speaker's Post: Report

The cabinet secretariat plans to release a notification about portfolio distribution by Monday evening.

A day after Chief Minister Nitish Kumar established the Bihar administration in coalition with the NDA, intense lobbying began for the position of assembly speaker and other lawmakers to be included in the council of ministers, news agency PTI reported. On Monday, Kumar presided over his new cabinet's portfolio distribution meeting. Following the cabinet meeting, NDA constituent leaders remained tight-lipped on portfolio distribution. It has been learnt from reliable sources that the BJP is expected to keep the post of the assembly speaker.

According to sources, the cabinet secretariat plans to release a notification about portfolio distribution by Monday evening, PTI reported.

Earlier today, a number of BJP leaders sent a no-confidence motion notice to the assembly secretary, asking the dismissal of Assembly Speaker Awadh Bihari Choudhary, an RJD politician. 

Nitish Kumar exited the Mahagathbandhan alliance in Bihar on Sunday, dealing a big blow to the Opposition-backed INDIA group, and restored ties with the BJP-led NDA. He resigned as Bihar's Chief Minister before taking oath as Chief Minister of the Janata Dal (United)-BJP combination for the eighth time that day. The JD(U) later defined his return to the NDA as "back to where I was" and claimed that he will remain with the alliance.

In addition to Nitish Kumar and the two Deputy Chief Ministers, BJP's Prem Kumar, JD(U) leaders Vijay Kumar Chaudhary, Shravan Kumar, and Vijendra Yadav, Hindustan Awam Morcha (HAM) leader Santosh Kumar Suman, and Independent MLA Sumit Kumar Singh were sworn in as ministers.

Furthermore, Nitish Kumar, Samrat Chaudhary, and Santosh Kumar Suman are in the Legislative Council.

Nitish Kumar told reporters on Sunday that the Bihar cabinet might be expanded in a day or two, taking into consideration a variety of factors.

Notably, when Nitish Kumar allied with the BJP yesterday, the House order changed, giving the NDA 128 MLAs and the Opposition (Mahagathbandhan) 114 MLAs.

The RJD is the largest party in Bihar's 243-seat legislature, with 79 MLAs, followed by the BJP (78), JD(U) (45), and Congress (19).

The Left parties have 16 MLAs, but the HAM and AIMIM have four and one, respectively. There is one independent MLA in the House.