Published 14:20 IST, November 17th 2020
Bihar portfolio allocation OUT: CM Nitish keeps Home dept; Tar Kishore Prasad gets Finance
A 14-member council of ministers, headed by Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, was sworn in at the oath-taking ceremony in Patna in the presence of the Governor
A 14-member council of ministers, headed by Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, was sworn in at the oath-taking ceremony in Patna in the presence of Governor Phagu Chauhan on Monday. Two Deputy Chief Minister-designates Tarkishore Prasad and Renu Devi were among those who were administered the oath of office on Monday. Now, Republic has accessed the portfolio allocations.
Here’s the full list of the Bihar cabinet 2020 portfolios:
Nitish Kumar: Chief Minister
With his victory for the fourth consecutive time in Bihar Assembly Elections, Nitish Kumar has become the longest-serving Chief Minister of the state at the age of 69. Member of Janata Dal (United), Kumar has held the CM post for 15 consecutive years now barring short spells out of the post.
The Chief Minister of Bihar has been allotted the following portfolios:
- Home
- General administration
- Cabinet
- Vigilance
- Election
- All other departments not distributed to any minister
​Tar Kishore Prasad: Deputy Chief Minister
BJP leader Tar Kishore Prasad replaced Sushil Kumar Modi as the Deputy CM of Bihar. Prasad is a fourth-term MLA who has been inducted into the council of ministers for the first time. The cabinets allotted to Prasad include:
- Finance
- Commercial taxes
- Environment and forest
- Information technology
- Disaster management
- Urban development
Renu Devi: Deputy Chief Minister
Along with Tar Kishore Prasad, BJP leader Renu Devi has also been sworn-in as the Deputy CM for Bihar. Renu Devi is also a four-term MLA from Bettiah, who served as a member of the council of ministers headed by Nitish Kumar in 2010. She has been allotted the following portfolios:
- Panchayati Raj
- Backward caste upliftment and EBC welfare
- Industry
Vijay Chaudhary
JD(U) leader Vijay Kumar Choudhary won the Sarairanjan Assembly seat in Samastipur.
- Rural Engineering Department
- Ruler development department water resources
- Information and broadcasting
- Parliamentary affairs
Bijendra Yadav - JD(U)
- Energy
- Prohibition
- Planning
- Food and consumer affairs
Mewa Lal Choudhary - JD(U)
- Mewa Lal Choudhary from Bihar’s Tarapur constituency
- Education
- Sheila Kumari
- Transport
Santosh Manjhi - HAM
The son of Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) chief and former Bihar chief minister Jitan Ram Manjhi, Santosh Kumar Suman also took oath as a cabinet minister in Bihar on Monday. His portfolios include:
- Minor irrigation
- SC/ST welfare
Mukesh Sahni - VIP
- Animal husbandry and fishery
Mangal Pandey
BJP leader Mangal Pandey held the post of Bihar’s health minister in the last term of CM Nitish Kumar. In this term, he received the following portfolios.
- Health
- Road
- Art and culture
Amrendra Singh - BJP
- Agriculture
- Cooperative
- Sugar cane
Ram Preet Paswan - BJP
- PHED
Jivesh Kumar - BJP
- Tourism
- Labour
- Mines
Ram Surat - BJP
- Revenue
- Law
Ashok Chowdhary
The current president of JD(U) Bihar and one of Nitish Kumar’s close confidants, Ashok Choudhary, has been allotted the following cabinets:
- Building
- Minorities
- Science and technology
Bihar Election Result 2020
The Bihar assembly elections results were declared around midnight on November 10-November 11, with the ruling coalition - NDA winning 125 in the 243-member assembly, against Mahagathbandhan's 110. Even as the contest remained neck and neck throughout the day, RJD under the leadership of Tejashwi Yadav, became the single largest party with 75 seats, followed by BJP's 74. While Chirag Paswan's LJP won one seat, it made a major dent in JDU's tally that has come down to 43 from 71 in 2015. The biggest clincher is Asaduddin Owaisi's AIMIM winning 5 seats and CPI-ML winning 12 seats. The other two left parties - CPI and CPI-M won two each. The other two alliance partners of NDA - HAM and Vikassheel Insaan Party (VIP) won four seats each.
Updated 14:20 IST, November 17th 2020