New Delhi: According to sources, the 2020 formula for sharing cabinet berths in Bihar will be adhered to by the BJP and Nitish Kumar. For the fifth time in ten years, the Bihar chief minister changed sides last week and partnered with the BJP to form a new government, which he later left in 2022.
Yesterday, he took an oath alongside two BJP deputies who, according to sources, were assigned by the party “to keep an eye” on the 72-year-old, who is known by many as “Paltu Kumar” due to his frequent flip-flops.
The Council of Ministers will be expanded over the next few days, sources said, and the allocation of portfolios will take place after that. The crucial home department will stay with Mr Kumar.
In the coming days, the two sides will also discuss seat sharing for the Lok Sabha polls, but the earlier 17-17 formula for Bihar’s 40 parliamentary seats will have to be tweaked, sources indicated.
This is because seats will also have to be allocated for the new allies, including Jitan Ram Manjhi’s HAM.
According to sources, Mr. Kumar had decided to leave the Opposition on January 13, the day of their virtual meeting. Ten minutes early, he had left the meeting, furious with Rahul Gandhi.
According to sources, Mr. Gandhi’s response that he would confer with Mamata Banerjee regarding the position of INDIA bloc coordinator propelled him to take the decisive action. Soon afterward, he was selected as the convenor by the leaders. Sources claimed that Mr. Kumar, who was furious, turned down the position and suggested Lalu Yadav instead.
For chairman post, the suggestion was Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge, whose name was also proposed by Ms Banerjee and Arvind Kejriwal at an earlier meeting as the Opposition’s Prime Ministerial candidate.
For Mr Kumar, it was the other big letdown since he was counting on being projected for the job, sources earlier told.
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