Last Updated on November 21, 2025 11:48 pm by INDIAN AWAAZ
A Z NAWAB / PATNA
A day after being sworn in as Bihar Chief Minister for a record tenth term, Nitish Kumar today dramatically restructured the state’s power hierarchy, handing the crucial Home Department—the fulcrum of law and order and administrative authority—to ally BJP for the first time in two decades.
For the first time since 2005, Nitish Kumar has stepped away from the Home portfolio. The ministry is now in the hands of Deputy Chief Minister and senior BJP leader Samrat Choudhary, signalling a major shift in the coalition’s internal equations and giving the BJP direct control over policing, intelligence, and internal security in Bihar.
While Nitish retained the General Administration Department, Cabinet Secretariat, Vigilance, and Election portfolios, the move is widely read as a strategic concession to the BJP, which has emerged as the single largest party in the Assembly with 89 seats.
The BJP’s ascent within the cabinet is unmistakable:
— Vijay Kumar Sinha, the second Deputy CM, has received key revenue-linked ministries including Land, Revenue, and Mines.
— Mangal Pandey retains Health and gains the Law Department.
— Dilip Jaiswal, the state BJP president, now heads Industries.
— Rising leaders like Nitin Nabin, Shreyasi Singh, Narayan Prasad, and Sanjay Singh ‘Tiger’ have also secured prominent portfolios.
In total, 14 BJP ministers—including several new faces—have been inducted into the 26-member NDA cabinet, giving the party unparalleled administrative influence.
Allies JD(U), LJP (Ram Vilas), HAM(S) and RLM have been accommodated with rural development, education, irrigation, panchayati raj and public health engineering posts, though none received the state’s most powerful ministries.
Analysts say the decision to let the BJP command Home signals Nitish’s attempt to stabilise his coalition and manage succession politics, even as he edges closer to potentially surpassing Jyoti Basu’s record as the longest-serving chief minister in India.
