Bihar Ministry: Nitish Kumar keeps Home portfolio, Tejaswi Deputy CM

Nitish Kumar, who took oath of office as chief minister for the third time on Friday, is an engineer by profession.

It was the fifth time Nitish Kumar was becoming the chief minister.

An unprecedented security cover was put in place in Patna for the swearing-in ceremony of Kumar, who will head the first JD-U-RJD-Congress coalition to rule Bihar.

Representing Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the dais was central minister M. Venkaiah Naidu. CPI(M)’s Sitaram Yechury, CPI’s D Raja also attended the event.

Lalu’s elder son Tej Pratap is the new health minister, official sources said.

Angry over his non-inclusion in the council of ministers, JD-U leader and former minister Shayam Razak did not attend the function. The years when Tejaswi’s parents Lalu and mother Rabri Devi were chief ministers of Bihar, are particularly remembered for the pathetic condition of roads in the state. Chief Secretary, Home Secretary and the Director General of Police (DGP) will also remain present in the meeting.

Senior RJD leader Abdul Bari Siddiqui has been entrusted with the Finance portfolio. However, in this case, Lalu Prasad forced Nitish Kumar to drop two of his close colleagues, Shyam Razak and P K Shahi, from the new council of ministers. The Lok Janshakti Party chief alleged that the district administration was acting “under political pressure in the wake of the incident and booking party supporters at the behest of a JD(U) leader who lost the poll”.

Younger son and debutant MLA Tejaswi has been sworn in as deputy CM with the important portfolios of road construction – a key factor behind Nitish’s success – and welfare of Other Backward Castes and Extreme Backward Castes. Hundreds of security personnel are geared to protect the venue and the VVIPs. In distinction, Bihar, helped by financial reforms carried out by Nitish Kumar authorities, witnessed marginal fall within the proportion of inhabitants under the poverty line.

“Such a thing has never happened”.

Friday’s gathering was the first major show of anti-BJP unity since Modi became the prime minister in May 2014. The oath was administered by Governor of Bihar Ram Nath Kovind.

Tejaswi had earlier directly targeted the people who consider him incapable of the post and said that there are two chief ministers in his family and he has seen how government’s work.