With Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar taking oath along with NDA's new ministers on Sunday, BJP's social engineering prowess has come to the fore once again.
The new picks for Deputy Chief Ministers – Vijay Sinha and Samrat Choudhary – hints at BJP's balancing act in cabinet formation when it comes to caste politics. Picking Sinha, who belongs to the Bhumihar caste, is seen as a move to bolster the party's base among upper caste voters while choosing Choudhary who is from the Koeri community, is apparently aimed at appeasing OBCs.
Other upper caste ministers in the new cabinet include JD(U)'s Vijay Choudhary, a Bhumihar, and Independent leader Sumit Kumar Singh from Rajput community. OBC representation include Nitish Kumar and JD(U)'s Shravan Kumar who are from Kurmi community, BJP's Prem Kumar (Kahar) and JD(U)'s Vijendra Yadav (Yadav). HAM's Santosh Kumar Suman belongs to Mahadalit community who are the poorest social groups within the Dalits in Bihar.
Only eight ministers have taken oath on Sunday though the Bihar cabinet has a provision of allowing a maximum of 35 ministers.
Who is Vijay Kumar Sinha?
BJP's Vijay Kumar Sinha was previously the Leader of Opposition in the Bihar assembly. He is an MLA from Lakhisarai seat since 2010.
When the JD(U) and BJP coalition ruled Bihar from November 2020 to August 2022, he served as the Speaker of the Bihar assembly. He resigned from the post after the Mahagathbandhan's no-confidence motion was passed.
Who is Samrat Choudhary?
Samrat Choudhary, 54, was elected the leader of BJP legislature party on Sunday hour before he took oath as minister in the new cabinet. He joined BJP six years ago and was named the state BJP president in March in 2023 after succeeding Lok Sabha MP Sanjay Jaiswal.
He was with RJD till 2014 and was with JD(U) till 2018 when he joined BJP. His influence in Bihar politics seems to have pushed the BJP to appoint him as the Deputy CM to appease the OBC community. Choudhary made headlines when he began wearing a saffron turban after Nitish dumped the BJP previously and vowed to take it off only after the latter returned to power.
