What Nitish Kumar 's cabinet composition signifies

Nitish Kumar took the oath as chief minister of Bihar for the tenth time on 20 November, at a ceremony held at Gandhi Maidan in Patna, attended by senior national leaders. The swearing-in included 26 ministers who also took the oath of office at the event, bringing the total number of ministers in the new Council of Ministers to 27, including the chief minister. Samrat Choudhary and Vijay Kumar Sinha were sworn in as deputy chief ministers.

The cabinet reflects representation from the National Democratic Alliance partners. The distribution of ministerial berths recorded at the ceremony comprised 14 ministers from the BJP, eight from the Janata Dal (United), two from the Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas), one from Hindustani Awam Morcha and one from Rashtriya Lok Morcha. Several new faces featured alongside incumbents who retained portfolios or assumed new responsibilities.

Composition, notable inclusions, party allocations

Names sworn in to the new ministry include Samrat Choudhary, Vijay Kumar Sinha, Dilip Jaiswal, Shreyasi Singh, Rama Nishad, Ram Kripal Yadav, Nitin Nabin and Prem Kumar, among others, alongside several lesser-known entrants from smaller alliance partners. The list also includes two ministers who are sons of party leaders: Deepak Prakash, son of Upendra Kushwaha, and Santosh Suman, son of Jitan Ram Manjhi. Reports from the oath event indicated that at least one Muslim legislator was inducted and three women were included among the ministers.

Officials at the ceremony said the NDA sought a balance of geographical and social representation. Media aggregations of the ministerial list noted an emphasis on caste balance: Rajput representation emerged among the largest single group. At the same time, Scheduled Castes, Extremely Backward Classes and Other Backward Classes were also represented. The parties named for specific quotas included allocations intended to reflect regional vote patterns and alliance negotiations.

Logistics of ceremony, attendance, next steps

The oath-taking was presided over by the state governor and attended by the prime minister and other senior union ministers. A formal meeting of the council is expected to be convened in the coming days to finalise departmental allocations and confirm portfolios. Administrative teams at the secretariat will prepare notification drafts, after which ministerial responsibilities will be formally notified and published.

Documents released after the ceremony list the ministers’ names and their party affiliation; official gazette notification of portfolio allocation is expected within statutory timelines. Parliamentary procedure requires that ministers who are not members of either house must secure election to the legislature within six months, where applicable. The new government has indicated that legislators from alliance partners who are not yet members of the assembly or council will be accommodated through appropriate legal and procedural channels.

Key facts at a glance

• Chief minister sworn in: Nitish Kumar (tenth term)
• Number of ministers sworn in at ceremony: 26 (total executive team, including chief minister, 27)
• Deputy chief ministers: Samrat Choudhary, Vijay Kumar Sinha
• Party composition of ministers: BJP 14, JD(U) eight, LJP(RV) two, HAM one, RLM one
• Female ministers sworn in: three
• Muslim representation: one minister inducted