The NDA government in Bihar expanded its cabinet on Thursday with 32 leaders taking oath as ministers during a large-scale ceremony held at Gandhi Maidan in Patna.
The swearing-in programme witnessed the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and former Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, along with several senior leaders of the National Democratic Alliance.
Large crowds gathered at the venue as the ruling alliance showcased its political strength through the high-profile event.
Governor Syed Ata Hasnain administered the oath to the ministers in multiple rounds.
Among the prominent names inducted into the cabinet were Shravan Kumar, Vijay Kumar Sinha, Dilip Jaiswal, Nishant Kumar and Leshi Singh. Other leaders sworn in included Ram Kripal Yadav, Nitish Mishra, Damodar Rawat, Sanjay Singh 'Tiger', Ashok Chaudhary, Bhagwan Singh Kushwaha, Arun Shankar Prasad and Madan Sahani.
The expanded cabinet also included Santosh Kumar Suman, Rama Nishad, Ratnesh Sada, Kumar Shailendra, Sheela Kumari, Kedar Prasad Gupta, Lakhendra Kumar Roshan, Sunil Kumar, Shreyasi Singh, Jama Khan, Nandkishore Ram, Shailesh Kumar alias Bulo Mandal, Pramod Kumar, Shweta Gupta, Mithilesh Tiwari, Ramchandra Prasad, Sanjay Kumar Singh, Sanjay Kumar and Deepak Prakash.
The cabinet expansion introduced several first-time ministers from both the BJP and JD(U). JD(U) brought in Nishant Kumar, Bulo Mandal and Shweta Gupta, while BJP inducted Mithilesh Tiwari, Ramchandra Paswan, Nand Kishore Ram and Engineer Shailendra.
Political observers said the inclusion of Shweta Gupta and other women leaders signalled an effort to strengthen female representation in the state government.
The new cabinet includes five women ministers, with JD(U) accounting for three of them.
The distribution of portfolios among alliance partners reflected the NDA's attempt to maintain internal balance ahead of future elections.
Of the 32 ministers, 15 belong to the BJP, 13 to JD(U), two to Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas), one to Hindustani Awam Morcha and one to Rashtriya Lok Morcha.
The cabinet structure also reflected caste and community calculations central to Bihar politics. The new Ministry includes representation from Extremely Backward Classes, Other Backward Classes, Dalit communities, upper-caste groups and one Muslim minister.
Analysts believe the cabinet reshuffle was carefully designed to balance social representation, alliance management and electoral considerations before upcoming political contests in the state.
With the Ministry now formally expanded, focus will likely shift towards governance, implementation of welfare schemes and maintaining cohesion within the ruling alliance.