Nitish cabinet gets 17 new members

Patna: The much-awaited expansion of the Nitish Kumar cabinet in Bihar took place on Tuesday with the induction of 17 members, including Syed Shahnawaz Hussain, the high-profile Muslim face of the BJP which walked away with the lion's share.

The former union minister and party national spokesman, who got elected to the legislative council in a surprise move last month, was the first to be administered oath of office by Governor Phagu Chauhan. He was among nine inductees from the quota of the BJP which now has 20 members in the State cabinet.

The Chief Minister's JD(U), which has suffered diminution in clout because of its poor performance in assembly polls, settled for eight and has been left with 12 members in the cabinet.

As per norms, the state cabinet can have up to 36 members including the Chief Minister. With the expansion cabinet strength has risen to 34. One member each was inducted from the quotas of smaller allies Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) and Vikassheel Insaan Party (VIP) when the cabinet was formed in November last.

"Decision about the allocation of portfolios has been taken. You all will get to know about the same once the notification is issued", the Chief Minister told reporters, smilingly, after the ceremony.

With the exception of Pramod Kumar who held key portfolios in the previous government, the BJP placed its trust in "fresh faces". Other BJP leaders who took oath were Nitin Nabin, Samrat Chaudhary, Neeraj Kumar Singh "Bablu", Janak Ram, Subhash Singh, Alok Ranjan Jha and Narayan Prasad.