The expansion of Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's cabinet took place on Friday with 21 leaders being sworn in as state ministers. The swearing-in ceremony, held late evening at Raj Bhavan, formally ushered in the new ministers to their respective roles.
A notable aspect of the expansion was the inclusion of six first-time ministers from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) among the 12 BJP leaders sworn in. Renu Devi, serving as the 7th Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar, was among those who took the oath.
One of the highlights of the event was the introduction of several new faces into the cabinet, bringing a fresh dynamic to the state's leadership. Aruna Devi was also sworn in as a minister during the ceremony.
The list of BJP ministers sworn in includes prominent names such as Mangal Pandey, Neeraj Bablu, Nitish Mishra, Nitin Naveen, Janak Ram, Kedar Gupta, Dilip Jaiswal, Hari Sahni, Krishna Nandan Paswan, Surendra Mehta, and Santosh Singh.
Nitish Kumar, who secured the Chief Minister's position with the support of the BJP, took office on January 28 after resigning earlier due to issues within the coalition involving the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and the Congress. Kumar cited challenges in fulfilling promises and internal discord as key factors behind his initial resignation, following which he swiftly formed a new government with BJP's backing.