Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. File.
| Photo Credit: PTI
Chief minister Nitish Kumar-led NDA government’s Cabinet is likely to be expanded after the inauspicious month of kharmas, January 15 with as many as 10 new Ministers may join the cabinet. Currently, only 25 Ministers, some of them with several portfolios, are working in the Cabinet after BJP MLA Nitin Nabin had resigned recently from the Cabinet as Minister of several departments. In 243-member State assembly, a total of 36 Ministers including the Chief Minister, could be appointed.
Party insiders in JD(U) told The Hindu that the Cabinet could be expanded after the inauspicious month of kharmas which goes frommid-December to mid-January. “Some new Ministers, including new faces could be sworn in as Ministers in the Cabinet”, a senior party leader said on condition of anonymity. Top leaders from the ruling alliance party JD(U) had, recently, chat over the issue with alliance party leadership BJP in Delhi, he added. However, the party grapevine also added that “some big political developments” might take place in Bihar after the inauspicious period of Kharmas. When pressed further, they refused to divulge more saying, “just wait for the days to come and you’ll know of it”.
After the NDA government came to power again in the State in November this year, the new Cabinet of 26 Ministers—14 from the BJP, eight from JD(U), two from Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) and one each from Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) and Rashtriya Lok Morcha (RLM) — led by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar took oath with some Ministers like Deputy CMs Samrat Choudhary, Vijay Kumar Sinha, Vijay Choudhary and others looking after several departments. Of late, in December 2025, following the party’s principal of “one person, one post”, the five-time BJP MLA from Bankipore constituency of Patna district, Nitin Nbain was appointed as party’s national working president and he had to resign as minister of Road Construction, Urban development & Housing department and Law Department from the Cabinet. Currently, only 25 Ministers are working in Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s cabinet, excluding Mr Kumar. Sources in the ruling NDA, though, said, as many as 10 legislators (six from JD-U and four from the BJP) would be sworn-in as Ministers in the Cabinet expansion. In 243-member state assembly, a total of 36 Ministers including the Chief Minister, could be appointed.
However, some top party leaders of ruling JD(U) also claimed that there could be a major split within the Opposition mahagathbandhan (grand alliance) which comprises total 41 MLAs out of total 243 in State Assembly — 25 from Rashtriya Janata Dal, six from Congress party, five from the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM), three from Left parties, one each from Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and Indian Inqlab Party (IIP) of IP Gupta. The buzz in political circle of the State, though, is that Chief Minister Nitish Kumar “may lure MLAs from other parties for ministerial berth”.
“Yes, MLAs from opposition parties too could be ministers after kharmas period in cabinet expansion”, a senior JD(U) leaders admitted. Recently, JD(U) chief spokesperson and party MLC Neeraj Kumar had claimed that “as many as 18 RJD MLAs are in touch with JD-U and nothing can be ruled out in politics”. However, Opposition RJD leaders countered Mr Kumar vehemently saying “it could be just figment of his imagination”.
However, senior Congress leader in Bihar, Shakil Ahmad Khan on December 29 said that “there was no mahagathbandhan (grand alliance) in Bihar now and Congress party should go alone in Bihar instead of in alliance with the RJD” and stirred a question mark over Opposition unity in the State. “Congress party in Bihar is getting no political benefit by being in alliance with the RJD…there is no relevance now by being in alliance with the RJD in Bihar”, said Mr Khan. Earlier in mid-December too, a group of disgruntled Congress leaders of Bihar had written a letter to party pleader Rahul Gandhi raising some points and demanding action against State top party leadership. “Our top party leadership in Delhi must take cognizance of the points we raised in our letter, the sooner, it will be better for the party”, former spokesperson of Bihar Congress party and member of All India Congress Committee (AICC), Anand Madhab told The Hindu.
“But, in the Cabinet expansion caste combination of legislators allocated ministerial portfolios too would be positively considered”, said the senior JD(U) leader.
Published – December 31, 2025 02:22 am IST
