Bihar govt dissolves 4 key panels formed by previous regime

The Nitish Kumar government in Bihar has dissolved four key commissions constituted during the previous Mahagathbandhan government, including the one for the Extremely Backward Classes (EBCs), according to a notification issued by the state’s general administration department on Sunday.

The development came exactly a week after Kumar took oath as chief minister of Bihar for a record ninth time on January 28 after a dramatic volte-face, ditching the grand alliance it shared with the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and the Congress to form a new government with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which he had dumped less than 18 months ago.

“The Bihar government has dissolved the EBC Commission, Mahadalit Commission, State Scheduled Caste Commission and State Scheduled Tribe Commission, ending the tenure of their chairpersons and members with immediate effect,” the GAD notification said.

The move came even as the state cabinet, which currently has nine ministers, including Kumar, as against the sanctioned strength of 36, is yet to be expanded. The NDA government will also have to undergo a floor test to prove its majority in the state legislature during the upcoming budget session starting on February 12.

Besides the four panels, including the EBC Commission which was constituted ahead of the caste survey in state in October 2022, the Nitish Kumar government has also dissolved various district-level committees formed to implement the Twenty Point Programme (TPP) in the state.

The TPP panels — which oversee the implementation of welfare measures of various departments aimed at poverty eradication, food security, support to farmers, women, backward classes and minorities, among others — provide an opening for party workers and leaders at district and block levels to become part of the government functioning.

Officials familiar with the matter said these panels have been dissolved in view of the change in the government, adding they will be reconstituted soon.

Political analyst Nawal Kishor Choudhary said the urgency to reconstitute these committees, which were never a priority of the JD(U)-BJP alliance governments in the state, suggests the two ruling parties are eyeing to accommodate more of their lower-rung leaders in these panels ahead of the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.

To be sure, the four community-based commissions and the TPP panels were constituted only once during the NDA regime, which ruled the state for nearly 13 years since 2005. Under the grand alliance government formed in 2022, these panels were constituted and posts in the committees filled.

“It seems the BJP is not in a mood to allow Nitish dictate and delay the opportunities to create space for BJP cadres down the line, which remained stuck in the past. This time it is happening even before the cabinet expansion,” Chaudhary, the former principal of Patna College, added.