Nishant Kumar Set To Join Bihar Government on Thursday

Nishant Kumar, son of former Bihar CM Nitish Kumar, is poised to enter Bihar politics by joining the Samrat Choudhary government, marking a significant development in the state's political landscape.

Janata Dal-United president Nitish Kumar's son Nishant has agreed to join the Samrat Choudhary government in Bihar, and he is likely to be sworn in at the cabinet expansion function on Thursday, according to a source close to both the ex-CM and his son.

The 45-year-old leader, who joined the JD-U less than a couple of months ago, gave in to persuasions by senior functionaries of the party.

Nishant Kumar's Hesitant Entry Into Bihar Politics

"Ever since he had joined the party, it has been the wish of cadres that Nishant join the government. He could have been appointed as a deputy chief minister last month, but he was hesitant. Finally, he has agreed," the source told PTI on Wednesday.

The entry of Nishant Kumar, an engineering graduate, into politics took place soon after his father decided to step down as the chief minister, after becoming a Rajya Sabha member.

Speculation Surrounding Cabinet Inclusion

When a new government headed by BJP leader Samrat Choudhary was installed following Kumar's resignation, speculation was rife that the JD-U supremo's heir apparent would be in the council of ministers.

However, Nishant reportedly declined, declaring that he wanted to earn his spurs as a party worker before accepting a post.

Consequently, veteran JD-U leaders Vijay Kumar Chaudhary and Bijendra Prasad Yadav got inducted as ministers and were designated as deputy CMs.

Cabinet Expansion and Key Attendees

JD-U sources also claimed that around a dozen party leaders were likely to take oath as ministers on Thursday when Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Bharatiya Janata Party president Nitin Nabin will attend the function, which is being seen as a belated celebration of the saffron party heading a government in Bihar for the first time.

Earlier, JD-U state president Umesh Kushwaha had said that the party would like to have up to 16 ministers in the state cabinet, which can have a maximum strength of 30, in the state with a 243-member assembly.

Potential Inductees From JD-U

Prominent among those likely to be inducted from the JD-U quota are Ashok Choudhary, Shrawan Kumar, and Leshi Singh, all of whom were ministers in the Nitish Kumar government formed after the assembly polls held in November last year.

Besides JD-U and BJP, the cabinet may include representatives from Lok Janshakti Party-Ram Vilas and Hindustani Awam Morcha, headed by Union ministers Chirag Paswan and Jitan Ram Manjhi, respectively, besides Rajya Sabha MP Upendra Kushwaha's Rashtriya Lok Morcha.