Patna, Nov. 19: Both of RJD supremo Lalu Prasad's sons, Tej Pratap and Tejaswi, are expected to be part of the new Nitish Kumar government, sources told The Telegraph, unless something dramatic happens overnight and there is a major shake-up.
Late on Thursday, JDU sources said Tejaswi was strongly tipped to become the deputy chief minister.
A phalanx of anti-BJP chief ministers and leaders will make Nitish's swearing-in at Patna's Gandhi Maidan a grand affair that will reverberate far beyond the borders of Bihar. Former Chhattisgarh chief minister Ajit Jogi was the first to arrive at 4pm on Thursday, followed by Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee
The political circles, however, were more abuzz over who would get which cabinet berth. Many incumbent ministers could lose their jobs, sources said.
Nitish and his advisers were weighing the ministers against their performance, and the exercise could continue till the eleventh hour. "Some big names could be missing from the list," said a senior JDU leader who did not wish to be named.
While the mathematics of alliance politics kept Nitish busy on the eve of his swearing-in as Bihar chief minister for the fifth time, a relaxed Lalu spent the day with well-wishers.
Nitish was closeted in meetings all day, for over eight hours, to work on the final list. The sources said among the chief minister's advisers was Prashant Kishor, who crafted the campaign strategy that beat the BJP blitz.
JDU sources said a total of 28 ministers could be sworn in tomorrow - 12 each from the RJD and JDU, and four from the Congress. Nitish and Lalu, the sources said, have agreed to keep seven or eight berths vacant for future adjustments.
Vijay Choudhary, considered close to Nitish, was being tipped as a contender for the Speaker's post. From the RJD, Abdul Ghafoor, Chandrika Rai and Anita Devi (who defeated Rameshwar Chaurasia of the BJP from Nokha) are also likely to be part of the ministry.
According to sources, the list of ministers taking oath tomorrow would be sent to Raj Bhavan late tonight. Speculation was rife that a token ministry could be sworn-in on Friday and the full ministry expansion could happen after a vote of confidence in the new Assembly.
At Gandhi Maidan, the preparations befitted the final scene after a historic electoral battle. Never has Patna witnessed a chief minister's swearing-in of such a grand scale. Yesterday night, the state government confirmed a list of 35 guests for Nitish's swearing-in with a footnote that more VVIPs - mostly anti-BJP leaders - might attend.
The list of confirmed guests includes Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi, former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda, NCP chief Sharad Pawar, National Conference president Farooq Abdullah, CPM general secretary Sitaram Yechuri, and TMK Stalin of the DMK. This is apart from the nine chief ministers, including Arvind Kejriwal (Delhi), Akhilesh Yadav (Uttar Pradesh) and Tarun Gogoi (Assam), who have confirmed their participation.
With so many VVIPS in town, Patna was in a tizzy with security drill after security drill.
