Bihar: BJP May Get 18 Ministerial Berths, JD(U) 12

New Delhi: With Nitish Kumar all set to take oath as Bihar chief minister for the fourth time, all eyes will be on the new cabinet and new additions, if any.

Kumar along with Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Janata Dal (United) leaders held multiple meetings to discuss the probable size of the cabinet on Sunday.

According to people in the know, there are chances the JD(U) with 43 MLAs could get 12 ministerial berths while the BJP with 74 MLAs could get 18 ministers. One ministerial berth will be allotted to the other two parties of the NDA coalition — Vikasheel Insaan Party (VIP) and Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM).

It is also learnt that the number of ministers could be increased in coming months.

The allocation of ministerial berths to allies is apparently being done on the formula of allotting two berths for every seven seats the party has won, according to a PTI

Based on that formula, the JD(U) can expect to get 14 ministerial berths while for the BJP it is 20.

Meanwhile, Tarkishore Prasad was elected as the leader of BJP legislature party on Sunday and is widely tipped to be the deputy chief minister replacing Sushil Kumar Modi. Extremely Backward Caste (EBC) leader Renu Devi is also in the running for the deputy chief minister’s post. She was made the BJP’s deputy legislature party leader on Sunday.