Nitish Kumar's 10th Term as Bihar CM: Portfolio Allocations Reveal Shifting Power Dynamics with BJP

Nitish Kumar took oath as Chief Minister of Bihar for a tenth time on November 20.

New Delhi:

Nitish Kumar led his Janata Dal to an impressive victory in last week's Bihar election, securing 85 out of the state's 243 seats – 42 more than their 2015 result and just four fewer than BJP allies – maintaining his position as Chief Minister, though with notable changes in power dynamics.

The 74-year-old politician has relinquished the Home Ministry portfolio, which he held for nearly two decades, to Bharatiya Janata Party leader Samrat Choudhary, who will serve as the JDU leader's deputy.

Vijay Sinha, another BJP leader and Deputy Chief Minister, has been assigned the Revenue and Mines ministries in allocations confirmed Friday evening. BJP leaders were also granted key portfolios including Agriculture (Ram Kripal Yadav), Backward Classes Welfare (Rama Nishad), Disaster Management (Narayan Prasad), Industries (Dilip Jaiswal), and Labour (Sanjay Singh Tiger).

Former Bihar BJP chief Mangal Pandey received dual responsibilities – Health and Law.

Additional posts allocated to 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 was assigned 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) departments.

Smaller coalition partners received the Sugarcane Industry and Public Health Engineering departments (allocated to the Lok Janshakti Party), Minor Water Resources (to the Hindustan Awam Morcha), and Panchayati Raj (to the Rashtriya Lok Manch).

On Nitish's Home Ministry 'surrender'

Nitish Kumar initially assumed control of Bihar's Home Department – among the most coveted in any state or federal administration in India – in November 2005 and has maintained control almost continuously since then.

The exception occurred between May 2014 and February 2015; he stepped down following JDU's poor performance in the 2014 federal election, with Hindustan Awam Morcha's Jitan Manjhi assuming both positions temporarily.

Yielding this portfolio to the BJP is therefore viewed as a significant gesture, acknowledging the saffron party as the dominant partner, at least for now, in their alliance.

The BJP and JDU also contested the 2020 election together. At that time, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's party won 74 seats, one less than the opposition Rashtriya Janata Dal.

The JDU, however, experienced a dramatic decline, losing 28 seats to finish a distant third.

Speculation arose that the BJP would leverage its advantage to claim the Chief Minister's position from Nitish. That did not materialize; Nitish retained both the Chief Minister position and Home Minister portfolio but accepted two deputies from the BJP. Five years later, the JDU has made a remarkable recovery.

There is now no questioning Nitish Kumar's return as Chief Minister.

The BJP, however, remains the larger party in the coalition, a fact emphasized by its 14 representatives in the initial formation of the tenth Nitish Kumar cabinet. The JDU, by contrast, has only nine.

Relinquishing the Home Ministry also suggests the beginning of a post-Nitish political landscape in Bihar, with 57-year-old Samrat Choudhary potentially being groomed for future leadership.

Nitish Kumar faced questions regarding his physical and mental capabilities during this campaign, and removing this responsibility suggests the ruling alliance has initiated a form of succession planning.

Removing this portfolio from the JDU leader (without assigning him any specific charge) could also enable him, according to some analysts, to concentrate on broader issues such as governance rather than managing the law-and-order situation, particularly with the 'jungle raj' label never far from public discourse.

Nitish Kumar 10.0

Nitish Kumar was sworn in as Chief Minister for an unprecedented tenth time on Thursday.

The JDU leader – dismissed by critics as too elderly and unfit for leadership – had the final word at Patna's Gandhi Maidan. And he will achieve another milestone if he completes his term, as he would then become India's longest-serving Chief Minister, surpassing the record established by Sikkim's Pawan Chamling.