Nitish Kumar expands Cabinet, inducts seven new faces from BJP

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Wednesday expanded his cabinet, with the induction of seven new faces, all from the alliance partner BJP. At a ceremony held in the Raj Bhavan in Patna, Governor Arif Mohammad Khan administered the oath of office to the new inductees who raised the strength of the Cabinet to 36. Those who took the oath of office were Jibesh Kumar, Sanjay Saraogi, Sunil Kumar, Raju Kumar Singh, Moti Lal Prasad, Vijay Kumar Mandal and Krishna Kumar Mantu.

Patna, Bihar: Regarding the State Cabinet expansion, Minister Neeraj Kumar Singh Bablu says, "Seven people have taken the oath, representing different communities. This will send a message to society and strengthen governance" pic.twitter.com/Z7s6UEpwCu

— IANS (@ians_india) February 26, 2025

Earlier in the day, Bihar BJP president Dilip Jaiswal resigned from the Cabinet to conform with his party's policy of 'one person, one post'.The expansion comes as part of the BJP-JD(U) alliance's efforts to strengthen governance in the state.In January 2024, Janata Dal (United) chief Nitish Kumar took oath as the Chief Minister of Bihar for the record ninth time after a dramatic volte-face. He ditched the Mahagathbandhan and the opposition bloc INDIA and formed a new government with the BJP, which he had dumped less than 18 months ago.