Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar inducts a new cabinet — Here’s the full list of cabinet ministers and their portfolios

Nitish Kumar has become the longest-serving Chief Minister of Bihar at the age of 69. Kumar is the member of Janata Dal (United) and has held the post of the chief minister for 15 consecutive years now.

Kumar has previously served as the union minister of Railways and Agriculture in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee-led cabinet. While allocating portfolios Kumar kept home, general administration, vigilance and three more departments for himself.

The Bharatiya Janata Party(BJP) leader Tarkishore Prasad replaced Sushil Kumar Modi as the deputy CM of Bihar, after his oath ceremony in Raj Bhavan Bihar.

Prasad successfully defeated RJD’s Ram Prakash Mahto for the Katihar Assembly seat in the recently concluded Bihar Assembly elections by a margin of over 10,500 votes. Prasad is a fourth term MLA who is getting inducted into the council of ministers for the first time. Prasad got finance, commercial tax, environment, forest and disaster management, urban development and information technology departments.

BJP leader Mangal Pandey held the post of the Bihar’s health minister in the last term of CM Nitish Kumar. Pandey has also been the president of the BJP, Bihar from 2013 to 2017. Mangal Pandey has retained the health portfolio, apart from road construction, art and culture.

BJP leader Amrendra Pratap Singh was also sworn in as the cabinet minister. Singh won the Arrah Assembly seat defeating Quyamuddin Ansari from Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) (Liberation) with a margin of 3002 votes. Amrendra Pratap Singh has got the agriculture, cooperatives and sugarcane portfolios.

Mukesh Sahni is the only leader of Vikassheel Insaan Party (VIP) to be included in the Bihar cabinet. The Vikassheel Insaan Party won four seats in the Bihar Assembly elections. Mukesh Sahani is the new Minister for animal husbandry and fisheries.

The son of Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) chief and former Bihar chief minister Jitan Ram Manjhi, Santosh Kumar Suman also took oath as a cabinet minister in Bihar. Hindustani Awam Morcha also bagged four seats in the Bihar Assembly elections. Santosh Kumar Suman was allocated SC/ST affairs and minor irrigation.

The current president of JD(U) Bihar and one of Nitish Kumar’s close confidants, Ashok Choudhary, is also among the 14 cabinet ministers. Choudhary has previously held the position of the Minister of Education in the Bihar Government portfolio. Chaudhary got the charge of building construction, social welfare, minority affairs in Kumar’s 2020 cabinet.

After defeating Arvind Kumar Sahni of the RJD, Speaker of the state assembly and JD(U) leader Vijay Kumar Choudhary won the Sarairanjan Assembly seat in Samastipur. Choudhary also has vast experience working across portfolios like water resources, agriculture, animal and fish resources and information & public relations departments. Vijay Kumar Choudhary got the charge of rural development, rural engineering, water resources, information and broadcasting and parliamentary affairs.

Mewa Lal Choudhary from Bihar’s Tarapur constituency was also sworn in as the cabinet minister in the upcoming Nitish Kumar-led Bihar cabinet. The JDU leader Mewa Lal Chaudhary defeated RJD’s Divya Prakash in the Tarapur constituency in Bihar Assembly elections. Chaudhary was allocated the education portfolio.

Rampreet Paswan also took the oath as a Bihar cabinet minister in Maithili. Paswan has bagged the Rajnagar Assembly seat in Madhubani district thrice. Ram Preet Paswan has got the charge of public health engineering and Ram Surat Kumar the revenue and law portfolios.

Sheela Mandal, who won the Assembly seat from Phulparas in Madhubani, is also in the list of 14 cabinet ministers. Mandal defeated Kripanath Thakur of Congress and Binod Kumar Singh of the LJP in Bihar 2020 elections. Sheela Kumari got transport in allocation.

Ramsurat Rai is a first time minister. Rai won the Aurai seat in Muzaffarpur district of Bihar.