A major political reshuffle in Bihar on Thursday drew national attention as former chief minister Nitish Kumar’s son Nishant Kumar was inducted into the state cabinet during an expansion exercise led by Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary.
The oath-taking ceremony, held at Gandhi Maidan in Patna, was attended by several senior NDA leaders, including Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, underlining the political significance of the cabinet expansion ahead of the upcoming electoral season.
Nishant Kumar’s induction is being seen as a key development within the Janata Dal (United) (JDU), triggering fresh speculation about the party’s future leadership and generational transition.
Several leaders took oath as ministers in the Samrat Choudhary-led government, including Ram Kripal Yadav, Nitish Mishra, Vijay Kumar Sinha, Dilip Kumar Jaiswal, Ashok Choudhary, Shrawon Kumar and Leshi Singh, among others.
Earlier in the day, Nitish Kumar arrived in Patna along with Nishant Kumar and Union Minister Rajiv Ranjan Singh, popularly known as Lalan Singh, ahead of the ceremony.
According to sources close to Nishant Kumar, five new ministers, including Damodar Rawat, Bulo Mandal, Bhagwan Singh and Shweta Gupta, were expected to join the cabinet during the expansion.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah was also seen interacting with Nishant Kumar shortly before his induction into the ministry.
Reacting to the development, JDU MLA Bhagwan Singh Kushwaha said the new ministers would work under the leadership of Samrat Choudhary to strengthen governance in the state.
Union Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi described the development as an important political moment for Bihar and praised Nitish Kumar’s leadership decisions.
Manjhi said there had been widespread speculation that Nitish Kumar might not step down from power, but he displayed “magnanimity” by doing so.
