Patna, 7 May — In a sweeping display of political muscle, 32 leaders from the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) were sworn in as ministers of the Samrat Chaudhary cabinet at a grand ceremony held at Gandhi Maidan in Patna on Thursday. The event drew thousands of supporters and was attended by some of the country's most powerful political figures, underscoring the NDA's bid to consolidate its hold over Bihar ahead of future electoral contests.

High-Profile Attendance

The swearing-in ceremony was graced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, and former Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, along with several other senior NDA leaders. The presence of the top Central leadership at a state cabinet expansion is widely seen as a signal of the alliance's intent to project unity and strength in Bihar's politically charged landscape.

Alliance Arithmetic and Cabinet Composition

The expanded cabinet reflects a carefully negotiated distribution of portfolios among NDA partners. Of the 32 ministers, 15 berths have gone to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), 13 to the Janata Dal (United), two to the Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas), one to the Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular), and one to the Rashtriya Lok Morcha led by Upendra Kushwaha. The allocation is designed to maintain cohesion within a coalition that spans multiple parties and competing interests.

The social engineering embedded in the cabinet is equally deliberate. The composition includes 10 ministers from the Extremely Backward Classes (EBC), six from Other Backward Classes (OBC), seven from Dalit communities, nine from Savarna (upper caste) groups, and one Muslim minister. Political observers note that this caste arithmetic mirrors Bihar's complex social fabric, where community representation in government is a key electoral variable.

Fresh Faces and Women's Representation

One of the most discussed aspects of the expansion is the induction of several first-time ministers. The JD(U) brought in three new faces — Nishant Kumar, Bulo Mandal, and Shweta Gupta — with the inclusion of Gupta specifically seen as a move to strengthen women's representation. The BJP, meanwhile, inducted four first-timers: Mithilesh Tiwari, Ramchandra Paswan, Nand Kishore Ram, and Engineer Shailendra, broadening its outreach across social groups.

Overall, the new cabinet includes five women ministers, with JD(U) contributing the highest number at three. Political analysts view this as a deliberate attempt to project the government as supportive of greater female participation in governance.

Order of Oath-Taking

Governor Syed Ata Hasnain administered the oath of office to the ministers in batches. The first group comprised Shravan Kumar, Vijay Kumar Sinha, Dilip Jaiswal, Nishant Kumar, and Leshi Singh. They were followed by Ram Kripal Yadav (BJP), Nitish Mishra (BJP), Damodar Rawat (JD-U), Sanjay Singh 'Tiger' (BJP), and Ashok Chaudhary (JD-U).

Subsequently, Bhagwan Singh Kushwaha (JD-U), Arun Shankar Prasad (BJP), Madan Sahani (JD-U), Santosh Kumar Suman (Hindustani Awam Morcha), and Rama Nishad (BJP) took their oaths, followed by Ratnesh Sada (JD-U), Kumar Shailendra (BJP), Sheela Kumari (JD-U), Kedar Prasad Gupta (BJP), and Lakhendra Kumar Roshan (BJP). The final batch included Sunil Kumar (JD-U), Shreyasi Singh (BJP), Jama Khan (JD-U), Nandkishore Ram (BJP), Shailesh Kumar alias Bulo Mandal (JD-U), Pramod Kumar (BJP), Shweta Gupta (JD-U), Mithilesh Tiwari (BJP), Ramchandra Prasad (BJP), Sanjay Kumar Singh (LJP-Ram Vilas), Sanjay Kumar (LJP-Ram Vilas), and Deepak Prakash (RLM).

What Comes Next

With the expanded cabinet now in place, the NDA faces the harder task of converting political optics into governance delivery. Bihar's development challenges — infrastructure, employment, and public services — will test whether the carefully calibrated coalition can function as an effective administration. Attention will now shift to the allocation of portfolios and the rollout of development schemes across the state.