(file photo : Nitish Kumar)
Speed Post News Network
Patna : Bihar CM Nitish Kumar on January 18, 2021, said that he will his cabinet soon as the decks have been cleared for the same.
He, however, trashed speculations in a section of the media during the course of the day that it was likely to take place on January 19, 2021.
“Not tomorrow……you do not worry we would duly inform people in advance. I cannot say whether it will take place after two days or ten days. But, it will be sooner rather than later,”Nitish told mediapersons who approached him with queries about cabinet expansion. The state cabinet can have up to 36 members and at present it has only 13 besides the Chief Minister.
Nitish has been indicating that thecabinet expansion did not take place for want of a “prastaav” (proposal) from the BJP which has the largest number of MLAs in the ruling NDA. NDA sources say that there had been a tussle between Nitish and the BJP over the issue of representation of the JD(U) and the saffron party. On January 17, 2021, evening, state BJP president Dr Sanjay Jaiswal, accompanied by Deputy CMs Tarkishore Prasad and Renu Devi, both from his party, had called on Nitish at his official residence where the differences over the issue appear to have been ironed out.
The NDA in Bihar has altogether four constituents : BJP, JD(U), Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM), and Vikassheel Insaan Party (VIP).
At present, the BJP has seven members in the cabinet including the two Deputy CMs while the JD(U) has only four besides the Chief Minister.
Speculations are rife in the political circles that BJP national spokesman Syed Shahnawaz Hussain, a former Union Minister who has been fieleded by the party in the by-poll to Bihar the legislative council, could get a berth in the state cabinet.