Preparations underway for cabinet expansion in Bihar

Patna (Bihar) [India], May 5 (ANI): Preparations are underway for the cabinet expansion of the Samrat Chaudhary-led Bihar government at Gandhi Maidan in Patna.
Union Minister Chirag Paswan said that the cabinet ministers in Bihar were scheduled to take the oath after the completion of the Assembly elections. The oath-taking ceremony is expected to be held on May 6, 7, and 8.
"Under new leadership, the NDA govt has been formed in Bihar. Since the time Samrat Choudhary was sworn in as the CM, the wait was for the Cabinet to take oath. It was decided that the Cabinet would be expanded once the assembly elections were over. I believe the ceremony will take place on May 6,7,8," he told reporters here.
"A grand oath-taking ceremony will also be held in Bengal. Some ministers who were yet to take the oath will be completing the process, as well," he added.
This comes months after NDA's landslide win in Bihar, where the alliance clinched 202 of the 243 assembly seats. The 2025 verdict delivered the NDA a commanding three-fourths majority, while the Mahagathbandhan managed just 35 seats.
Within the alliance, the Bharatiya Janata Party won 89 seats, and the Janata Dal (United) secured 85. The Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) won 19, the Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) bagged five, and the Rashtriya Lok Morcha took four.
Among the opposition, the Rashtriya Janata Dal finished with 25 seats, followed by the Indian National Congress with six, CPI(ML)(L) with two, and one seat each for the Indian Inclusive Party and CPI(M). The All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen secured five seats, while the BSP won one.
Nitish Kumar on November 20 took oath as Chief Minister for a record 10th time in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other prominent leaders of the NDA.
On March 30, Nitish Kumar resigned as a member of the Bihar Legislative Council (MLC), marking the next major political transition as he prepares to assume office in the Rajya Sabha.
Samrat Choudhary was sworn in as the first-ever Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Chief Minister of Bihar, succeeding Nitish Kumar's 21-year tenure.
To balance power dynamics in the coalition, JD(U) veterans Vijay Kumar Choudhary and Bijendra Prasad Yadav were sworn in as Deputy Chief Ministers.
Earlier, Samrat Chodhary comfortably won the trust vote in the 243-member Bihar legislative assembly, reaffirming the NDA alliance's unity, marking the completion of the political transition in the state following the resignation of Nitish Kumar from the CM post.
The confidence motion was passed comfortably by the BJP, JD(U) and other NDA constituents, affirming their trust in Samrat Choudhary. (ANI)