Nitish Kumar Returns For 10th Term With a Caste-Engineered NDA Cabinet

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar will take oath for a record-extending tenth time on Wednesday, November 20, 2025, at a grand ceremony at Patna’s Gandhi Maidan, marking the formal installation of the new NDA government following its landslide victory in the Assembly elections. Along with Kumar, 22 ministers—nine from the BJP, ten from JD(U), and one each from LJP (Ram Vilas), Hindustani Awami Morcha (HAM), and Rashtriya Lok Morcha (RLM)—are expected to be sworn in, according to senior coalition sources. The event is being positioned as a massive show of strength, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Ministers from all BJP-ruled states slated to attend.

The BJP’s ministerial list is likely to include deputy CM-designates Samrat Choudhary and Vijay Kumar Sinha, along with Nitin Nabin, Renu Devi, Mangal Pandey, Neeraj Kumar Bablu, Sanjay Saraogi, Hari Sahni, and Rajnish Kumar. Eight of these nine were part of the previous cabinet. The party has carefully balanced caste equations, accommodating two Bhumihars, two Extremely Backward Class (EBC) leaders, one Brahmin, one Rajput, one Kayastha, and one Vaishya, ensuring representation across its core voter base.

From the JD(U) quota, ten leaders are expected to take oath: Vijay Kumar Choudhary, Shravan Kumar, Ashok Choudhary, Zama Khan, Ratnesh Sada, Leshi Singh, Bijendra Yadav, Shyam Rajak, Sunil Kumar, and Damodar Rawat. Eight of them served in the previous government. Nitish Kumar’s party has also maintained social engineering, fielding four Dalit ministers alongside Muslim, Yadav, EBC, Rajput, and Bhumihar representatives, reflecting its traditional rainbow coalition.

Also Read: ED Arrests Al-Falah University Founder Jawad Siddiqui in Money Laundering Probe

Smaller allies have been given symbolic yet significant representation. Chirag Paswan’s LJP (Ram Vilas) will be represented by state president Raju Tiwari (Brahmin), Jitan Ram Manjhi’s HAM by his son Santosh Kumar Suman, and Upendra Kushwaha’s RLM by his wife Snehlata Kushwaha. The inclusion of these leaders underscores the NDA’s strategy of keeping its expanded “parivar” intact after the alliance swept 202 of the 243 seats last week.

The ceremony at the historic Gandhi Maidan—once the venue of Jayaprakash Narayan’s Total Revolution rallies—will serve as both celebration and power projection. With the NDA securing its strongest-ever mandate in Bihar, the new cabinet’s composition signals continuity in governance style while reinforcing the delicate caste arithmetic that delivered the coalition another decisive term.

As Nitish Kumar, at 74, begins what many believe could be his final full term, the grand oath-taking tomorrow will not only install Bihar’s next government but also set the tone for the NDA’s dominance in the state until 2030.

Also Read: Odisha Police Probe Terror Links of Accused Housing Illegal Bangladeshi Immigrants