Nitish Kumar took oath as the Chief Minister of Bihar for the eighth time, while RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav on Tuesday took oath as the Deputy Chief Minister after the JD(U) chief broke ties with the BJP. Both the leaders were administered the oath by Governor Fagu Chauhan in a private ceremony which was attended by leaders of JD(U), Congress and RJD at 2 pm on Wednesday.
Nitish submitted his resignation to the Governor at 4 pm on Tuesday and joined hands with the Grand Alliance to form a new government in the state.
The cabinet formation is likely to take place in the near future as the coalition parties have reached an agreement on the allocation of cabinet berths. A highly placed source said the JD(U) leader is likely to retain the all-important home portfolio, while the RJD may get most of the portfolios that were earlier held by the BJP.
He said an in-principle agreement has been reached about the formation of the new cabinet, which is likely to have 35 or more members from Kumar’s JD(U), RJD and Congress.
Kumar, who is being lauded by the opposition parties for joining the anti-BJP camp, also spoke on the telephone with Congress President Sonia Gandhi on the political situation. According to the broad outline of the power-sharing formula, the RJD will have the largest number of ministers, given the fact that it has a higher number of MLAs.
The JD(U) is likely to have 13 ministers, with the RJD settling for 16. Four berths will be given to the Congress, while former chief minister Jitan Ram Manjhi’s HAM will have one member in the cabinet, the source said.
There is said to be a broad understanding on names among the coalition partners, except the Congress, which needs to be approved by the party high command in Delhi. The JD(U) is likely to restore several of its ministers from the previous cabinet, which was dissolved on Tuesday night under a notification issued by the chief secretary.
Kumar will be keeping the home himself, which helps him keep a check on the police. He will also keep portfolios related to the welfare of extremely backward castes and minorities, which is his main constituency.
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