Meet Bihar’s new ministers: Nitish keeps home; JD(U) gets education, health goes to BJP

Hindustan Times, New Delhi | Byhindustantimes.com | Edited by Poulomi Ghosh

Nov 17, 2020 04:07 PM IST

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Deputy CM Tarkishore Prasad will be the new finance minister. Health portfolio also rests with the BJP.

A day after 14 ministers of the new Bihar cabinet took oath, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar announced the portfolios. This is the first time Bihar will have two deputy chief ministers. The new government in Bihar has fourteen ministers -- seven from the BJP, five from the JD(U) and one each from the HAM and VIP.

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and Deputy Chief Minister Tarkishore Prasad during the oath-taking ceremony at Raj Bhawan in Patna on Monday.(PTI)

Nitish Kumar has kept the home portfolio for himself, apart from general administration, vigilance, election and several other departments which have not yet been distributed.

Finance, commercial taxes, environment and forest, information technology, disaster management and urban development will be handled by deputy chief minister Tarkishore Prasad.

The other deputy CM — Renu Devi — will head panchayati raj, backward caste uplift, extremely backward class welfare and industry.

Former Speaker Vijay Kumar Chaudhary (JD-U) has got the portfolios of rural engineering, rural development, water resources, information and public relations, parliamentary affairs.

BJP’s Bijendra Prasad Yadav will be the minister of energy, prohibition, planning, food and consumer affairs.

Mewalal Choudhary (JD-U) will be the new education minister and BJP’s Shiela Kumari will be the transport minister.

Jitan Ram Manjhi’s son Santosh Kumar Suman has got the portfolio of minor irrigation and SC/ST welfare.

Vikassheel Insaan Party’s Mukesh Sahni will be the minister for animal husbandry and fisheries.

Mangal Pandey (BJP) is the minister for health, road, art and culture.

Agriculture, cooperatives and sugar cane will be handled by BJP’s Amrendra Pratap Singh. Rampreet Paswan will be the new public health engineering minister.

BJP’s Jivesh Misra will handle the tourism, mines and labour portfolios and Ram Surat Rai will be the new revenue and law minister.

In its first meeting on Tuesday, the new cabinet gave its nod to a five-day session of the bicameral Bihar legislature from November 23 to November 27. Members of the newly constituted 17th assembly will be administered the oath during the session.