In a strategic move ahead of the upcoming state legislative assembly elections, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar is set to expand his cabinet today.
BJP President resigns from the Nitish Kumar cabinet on Wednesday, stepping down as the Revenue and Land Reforms Minister to adhere to the BJP's 'one person, one post' policy.
In a strategic move ahead of the upcoming state legislative assembly elections, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar is set to expand his cabinet today.
According to reports, the cabinet expansion is likely to take place before the budget session, with five to seven new ministers potentially being inducted.
In an update by Press Trust of India, Bihar BJP president Dilip Jaiswal resigned from the Nitish Kumar cabinet on Wednesday morning to align with his party's "one person, one post" policy.
The resignation came ahead of the expansion of the council of ministers in the evening, according to the Information and Public Relations Department, PTI reported.
Jaiswal, who held the crucial Revenue and Land Reform portfolio, was inducted into the cabinet in January last year after the BJP returned to power in the state with CM Nitish Kumar joining the NDA.
Dilip Jaiswal, who held the Revenue and Land Reforms department, joined the cabinet in January, 2024 following the BJP's return to power in the state, with Chief Minister Nitish Kumar aligning with the NDA.
In July, he replaced Deputy CM Samrat Choudhary as the state BJP president.
"I am thankful to the party's leadership for entrusting me with major responsibilities. As a minister, I took pride in accomplishments like digitisation of records running into more than 11 crore pages. I shall now wholeheartedly devote myself to strengthening the party's organisation," he told reporters after tendering the resignation as quoted by PTI.
As per the reports, Information and Public Relations Department officials said the state cabinet will be expanded with new ministers scheduled to be sworn in at 4 pm in Raj Bhavan.
Reports suggest that the MLAs likely to become ministers include Sanjay Sarawagi, Raju Singh, Awadhesh Patel, Jeevesh Mishra or Anil Sharma, and Tar Kishore Prasad or Pawan Jaiswal.
The Bhiar Cabinet comprises 30 members, including 15 ministers from the BJP, 13 from the JD(U), one representative from the Hindustan Awam Morcha (HAM), and an independent member, However, sic cabinet seats remain unfilled.
The Bihar Cabinet has the capacity to accommodate up to 36 ministers, as per constitutional provisions, leaving scope for the induction of new ministers.