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Sources said on Tuesday, November 18 that efforts are on to build a consensus among NDA allies on the post of Assembly Speaker as both BJP and JDU are staking claim to the post.
In the outgoing assembly, BJP leader Nand Kishore Yadav served as the Speaker, while JDU’s Narendra Narayan Yadav held the post of Deputy Speaker.
Sources said senior JD(U) leaders and top BJP leaders are holding meetings in New Delhi in this regard, with the allocation of key ministerial posts as well as the post of Speaker top on the agenda.
Sources said that the leaders of both the parties who are considered to be frontrunners in the race for the post of President include JDU’s Vijay Chaudhary and BJP’s Prem Kumar.
Sources said the new cabinet will have five to six new faces from NDA’s main constituents – BJP and JD(U). JD(U) chief Umesh Singh Kushwaha, who won from the Mehnar assembly seat, is likely to be included in the new cabinet of Nitish Kumar, who will be sworn in as Bihar CM for a record 10th time on November 20.
Kumar will submit his resignation as head of the outgoing government to Governor Arif Mohammad Khan on November 19 and the present assembly will be dissolved on the same day (Wednesday). Both JDU and BJP will elect their legislature party leaders on November 19 respectively.
The NDA came to power in Bihar by winning 202 seats in the 243-member assembly, including BJP 89, JD (U) 85, LJP (RV) 19, HAM 5 and RLM 4.
Sources said that while JD(U) is all set to repeat its existing ministers in the next cabinet, the BJP may bring in some new faces.
Along with JD(U) and BJP, smaller allies – Union minister Chirag Paswan’s LJP (RV), Jitan Ram Manjhi’s HAM-S, and Upendra Kushwaha’s RLM – will also be part of the new cabinet.
“LJP (RV) is likely to get three seats in the new state cabinet, while HAM-S and RLM will get one seat each,” a source said. Maximum 16 ministers from BJP and 14 ministers from JD(U) and Nitish Kumar will take oath on November 20.
“We are expecting more representation in the new cabinet compared to the previous cabinet, in which our party had only 12 ministers. We want more space in the cabinet as our numbers have increased rapidly since 2020, when we had less than 50 MLAs,” JD(U) sources said.
The historic Gandhi Maidan, where the swearing-in ceremony will take place, has been closed for the general public till November 20. There is a complete ban on entry of common people into Gandhi Maidan till November 20, Patna district administration said in a statement on Monday.
A large number of security personnel have been deployed due to the possibility of Prime Minister Narendra Modi attending the swearing-in ceremony. Many top NDA leaders including Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Defense Minister Rajnath Singh, Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan are expected to attend this program.