Nitish Kumar took oath as Bihar chief minister for the seventh time on Monday but if he looked a little disenchanted as he gazed down from the Raj Bhavan dais, he had good reason.
Not only was his trusted deputy Sushil Kumar Modi gone, the BJP had replaced the veteran with not one but two deputy chief ministers — Tarkishore Prasad and Renu Devi — in what seemed an attempt to clip Nitish’s wings.
Also, the Janata Dal United looked likely to lose the Assembly Speaker’s post, with outgoing Speaker Vijay Kumar Choudhary — who Nitish had been keen to retain — taking oath as a minister. Sources in the BJP said former minister Nand Kishore Yadav could be appointed Speaker.
Twelve ministers apart from Nitish, Tarkishore and Renu were sworn in. Six of the 15 who took the oath were from the JDU (including Nitish), seven from the BJP and one each from the Hindustani Awam Morcha Secular and the Vikassheel Insan Party.
The cabinet is expected to be expanded later since Bihar is allowed 36 ministers.
If Nitish felt undermined during the oath-taking, the BJP seemed to add insult to injury soon after. Union home minister Amit Shah and BJP president J.P. Nadda, who had flown in to attend the swearing-in, returned to Delhi immediately after the ceremony without spending some time with Nitish at the Raj Bhavan.
The portfolios are yet to be distributed. Nitish’s stature and clout in a government where his party is now the junior partner will become clearer once the important ministries like home, education and finance have been allotted.
Already the BJP has engaged in a bit of “social engineering” that could weaken Nitish politically. While Tarkishore — from the Baniya (trading) caste — is an OBC like Sushil, Renu’s Nonia (salt maker) identity makes her an Extremely Backward Caste, so far seen as a promising vote bank for Nitish.
The BJP has chosen its other ministers from an assortment of castes, keeping in mind identity arithmetic. It has retained only one minister, Mangal Pandey, from the previous cabinet, signalling a move at a new beginning.
Nitish’s plight owes to his party winning just 43 seats against the BJP’s 74, with the Morcha and Vikassheel notching four seats each to give the alliance 125 of the Assembly’s 243 seats.
Asked for his reaction at becoming chief minister again, Nitish said: “What else can be the reaction? Once again the responsibility is there and it has to be discharged.”
He ducked the question whether he was missing Sushil and whether his former deputy’s vast experience should be utilised in some other capacity.
“This (keeping Sushil away) is a BJP decision. You should ask the BJP about it,” Nitish said.
Although Sushil attended the swearing-in, he stayed somewhat aloof and silent in the crowd of politicians.
Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, who was present, said: “Nitish is our leader. The government will run strongly under his leadership.”
Main Opposition Rashtriya Janata Dal, the largest party in the Assembly with 75 seats, boycotted the ceremony.
“We boycott the oath-taking ceremony. The public mandate for change is against the NDA. It was changed by the administrative order,” the RJD said.
“The people are angry over the fraud committed by the NDA. We are public representatives and we stand with the people.”
Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted: “Congratulations to Nitish Kumar Ji on taking oath as Bihar’s CM. I also congratulate all those who took oath as ministers in the Bihar government. The NDA family will work together for the progress of Bihar. I assure all possible support from the Centre for the welfare of Bihar.”
