Bihar Government Formation: These Are the Newly Sworn In Ministers

Nitish Kumar being sworn in as Bihar Chief Minister for a fourth term.

(Photo: The Quint)

Nitish Kumar was sworn in for a fourth term as Bihar chief minister on Monday, 16 November.

Kumar, who heads the Janata Dal (United) (JD(U)), was administered the oath of office at the Raj Bhavan in Patna by Governor Phagu Chauhan.

Here's a look at the others who were sworn in along with him.

DEPUTY CHIEF MINISTERS

Tarkishore Prasad

The Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) Tarkishore Prasad was sworn in as one of the deputy chief ministers after Kumar. MLA from the state's Katihar constituency, Prasad will replace Sushil Modi as the Deputy CM. Prasad is an RSS man who won the Katihar seat on a BJP ticket in 2005 and hasn't lost the seat since. He is known to have a strong command over the party organisation and was selected as the leader of the legislative Assembly by the BJP.

Renu Devi

Along with Prasad, the BJP's Renu Devi was also sworn in as deputy chief minister. A four-time MLA from the Bettiah constituency, and a member of the backward Noniya community, she was a minister in Bihar in the second NDA government headed by Nitish Kumar.

CABINET MINISTERS

Apart from the chief minister and deputy chief ministers, others also took oath as Cabinet ministers.

1. Mangal Pandey

A noted leader of the Bihar BJP, Mangal Pandey was also Health Minister in the previous Bihar government.

2. Amarendra Pratap Singh

MLA from Arrah, 73-year-old Amarendra Pratap Singh won this election by almost 3,000 votes.

3. Rampreet Paswan

67-year-old BJP leader Rampreet Paswan, calls himself a "farmer" in the affidavit presented to the Election Commisson. He contested from the Rajnagar constituency in Bihar's Madhubani and won by over 19,000 votes.

4. Jeevesh Mishra

BJP leader Jeevesh Mishra is 47 years old and contested from the Jale constituency, where he beat the Congress' Maskoor Usmani by over 22,000 votes.

5. Ramsurat Rai

The BJP's 47-year-old leader Ramsurat Rai contested from Aurai constituency and won by over 48,000 votes.

6. Vijay Choudhary

A JD(U) leader, 63-year-old Vijay Choudhary contested from the Sarairanjan seat and won by over three and a half thousand votes.

7. Vijendra Yadav

JD(U) leader Vijendra Yadav calls himself a social worker and has been a loyal aide of the JD(U) since he joined politics. He has never changed parties.

8. Ashok Choudhary

JD(U) leader Ashok Choudhary is from the Paasi community and calls himself a farmer in the affidavit submitted to the Election Commission.

9. Mewalal Choudhary

A MSc and PhD holder, Mewalal Choudhary contested from the Tarapur constituency on a JD(U) ticket. He belongs to the Koiri community, which falls in the OBC category.

10. Sheela Mandal

JD(U) leader Sheela Mandal is from the OBC category and calls herself a farmer.

11. Santosh Kumar Suman

Santosh Kumar Suman is a leader of the Hindustan Awaam Morcha (HAM) and son of former Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi. Suman did not contest the elections this year and has been made minister in place of his father. He is presently a member of the Vidhan Parishad in Bihar.

12. Mukesh Sahani

Mukesh Sahani is the head of the Vikaassheel Insaan Party (VIP), a part of the NDA alliance, which contested in 11 seats and won 4. Sahani lost his own election from Simri-Bakhtiarpur but was given a ministerial berth because of his party's performance. He is from the Nishaad community which is considered to be a backward caste.