Bihar Election 2020: Speculation rife over BJP’s share in NDA cabinet

Speculations are rife over how the cabinet of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government in Bihar will shape up even as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) emerged as the single-largest party and pushed the senior partner Janata Dal (United) to the status of a junior ally in the recently held assembly polls.

In the outgoing Nitish Kumar-led NDA government, there were 15 and 13 ministers from the JD (U) and the BJP, respectively. Earlier, the cabinet had 33 ministers, including 19 from the JD (U) and the BJP (14).

The maximum number of ministers in the Bihar cabinet permissible is 36, as the size is capped at 15% of the 243-member legislative assembly.

The NDA, which has a wafer-thin majority of 125 lawmakers (the half-way mark is 122), has to take a crucial call, which alliance partner will get the key post of Speaker of the assembly.

Also Read: Full coverage of Bihar assembly election 2020

In the outgoing assembly, Speaker Vijay Kumar Choudhary was from the JD (U). Choudhary has won from the Sarairanjan assembly seat.

In the NDA, Election Commission of India (ECI) data showed, the JD (U) won 43 seats, the BJP 74, former CM Jitan Ram Majhi’s Hindustani Awami Morcha ( Secular) 4, and Bollywood set designer Mukesh Sahani’s Vikassheel Insaan Party 4.

The opposition Grand Alliance (GA) or the mahagathbandhan (MGB), comprising the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), the Congress and the Left parties, has won 110 seats.

The RJD has emerged as the single-largest party with 75 seats, followed by the Congress (19), the Communist Party of India (Marxist–Leninist) Liberation (12), and the Communist Party of India (CPI) and the Communist Party of India (Marxist), who bagged two seats each.

Nine ministers of the Kumar-led government have lost.

The election results, which were delayed because of staggered counting of votes because of the raging coronavirus disease (Covid-19) outbreak, were announced in the early hours on Wednesday.

The JD (U) top brass could come to terms with the BJP’s claim for more ministerial berths in light of the outcome.

“Yes, there could be more BJP ministers in the new cabinet and the JD (U) may have to settle for less. However, the issue will be resolved amicably,” said a JD (U) leader, requesting anonymity.

The BJP is maintaining a radio silence about the composition of the new cabinet.

“The party’s parliamentary board will take a call on this. The central leadership of the party will hold talks with CM Kumar on the size of cabinet and other related matters,” said Sanjay Jaiswal, the head of the BJP’s Bihar unit.

Deputy CM Sushil Kumar Modi echoed similar views.

He said the board would decide on the names of ministers.

Modi chose to skirt the contentious issue on whether the BJP would demand a lion’s share in the new cabinet. “We will know it after the discussions are held,” he said amid speculations that the key meeting could be held on Wednesday evening.

NDA insiders felt the BJP might not assert itself in getting ministerial berths disproportionately higher than that of the JD (U) in a bid not to undermine CM Kumar’s stature.

The party, they said, would like to send a message of maintaining its coalition dharma while factoring in an equitable representation from all regions, caste and religious groupings in a state known for its identity politics.

“The cabinet size will be decided based on the number of seats that the allies have won. The BJP may seek a higher representation, as it has an enviable strength of lawmakers. However, the party may err on the side of caution. The BJP knows Kumar is the glue for the NDA and any assertion may put the alliance under unnecessary strain,” said Nawal Kishore Choudhary, a political observer and a former principal of Patna College.

Choudhary felt that the BJP might seek the Speaker’s post. He reasoned that the BJP could help keep the alliance intact, especially the smaller regional allies such as the HAM (S) and VIP.

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