New Delhi: Ahead of the Bihar cabinet swearing-in, the Nitish Kumar government finds itself tangled in one final knot at the eleventh hour: who gets the Home Ministry. Everything else — well, almost everything else — has been hammered out in a frenzy of late-night negotiations. But this one ministry sits like a stone in the middle of the road.
Bihar govt ready to launch, but one portfolio refuses to budge
Earlier today, JD(U) leaders Rajiv Ranjan (Lallan Singh) and Working President Sanjay Jha met Union Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP chief JP Nadda in New Delhi for nearly 45 minutes. The closed-door huddle, according to those in the loop, involved a detailed breakdown of the new cabinet structure, the Speaker’s post and the roles each partner will hold.
The whisper in political corridors is simple: the BJP wants the Home and Education portfolios this time and is prepared to surrender Health and Finance to get them. The JD(U) is willing to part with Education. But the Home Ministry? That is where Nitish Kumar digs his heels in.
Since 2005, Kumar has kept the Home Ministry portfolio under his direct command, giving him control over policing, crime, corruption and the broader law-and-order machinery. Handing it over now would feel, to him, like ceding the steering wheel. Sources say a consensus looks unlikely at the moment, and another meeting is lined up for late tonight.
Speaker issue finally settled: BJP gets it
One major tussle, however, has been put to bed. The BJP will take the Speaker’s chair, and the JD(U) will hold the Deputy Speaker’s post. With that friction out of the way, both sides have returned to the broader cabinet blueprint.
Here is the near-final division being discussed:
Likely BJP portfolios:
Revenue, Cooperatives, Animal & Fisheries Resources, Law, Public Health Engineering, Industry, Tourism, Road Construction (plus its ongoing push for Home and Education).
Likely JD(U) portfolios:
Agriculture, Mines & Geology, Water Resources, Parliamentary Affairs, Energy, Planning & Development, Science & Technology, Technical Education, Rural Development, Food & Consumer Protection.
Nitish poised for historic tenth term
According to PTI, JD(U) sources have said that Nitish Kumar is expected to be elected legislature party leader on November 19, before taking oath for a record tenth term on November 20 at Gandhi Maidan. The shape of Bihar’s next five years should finally come into focus before the meeting concludes tonight (Tuesday).