Exclusive: Tejaswi to be Deputy CM, Nitish Likely to Retain Home

The Quint Exclusive: Lalu’s younger son, Tejaswi Yadav will be Deputy CM, while Tej Pratap will be Health Minister.

Tej Pratap Yadav, Misa Bharti & Tejaswi Yadav. Tejaswi, 26, bypasses both elder siblings to become Deputy Chief Minister. (Photo: Facebook.com/misabharti)

Nitish Kumar took oath as the Bihar Chief Minister for the fifth time. Highly placed sources have exclusively confirmed with The Quint that Lalu Prasad Yadav’s 26-year-old son and first timer, Tejaswi Yadav will be sworn in as his deputy, amidst much speculation. Sources have further confirmed that Tej Pratap will be made Health Minister. Lalu’s close aide and popular Muslim face in the RJD, Abdul Bari Siddiqui is likely to be given the all important Finance portfolio. Sources say, Siddiqui enjoys a good relation with Nitish Kumar. Highly placed sources have also told The Quint, that Chief Minister Nitish Kumar is likely to keep charge of the Home Ministry.

After having Sushil Modi, seasoned BJP politician and close friend as his deputy, it remains to be seen how Nitish will deal with the young and relatively inexperienced cricketer-turned-politician, Tejaswi.

Sources tell The Quint, Tejaswi Yadav to become Deputy Chief Minister, Tej Pratap to be given the Health portfolio, Abdul Bari Siddiqui to be given charge of Finance and Nitish Kumar is likely to retain Home.

Speculation is rife on who will be made the Speaker of the Bihar Assembly. Sources say, it will be either Sadanand Singh of the Congress or Vijay Choudhary of the JDU.

Lalu Prasad Yadav with son, Tejaswi Yadav, who will be sworn in as Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar. (Photo: facebook.com/laluprasadyadav)

Party sources had earlier told The Quint that even though Lalu’s eldest daughter Misa Bharti is the more seasoned among her siblings, she is not likely to make it to Nitish’s government. Misa is reportedly unhappy at being kept out, considering she was the force behind the party’s campaign. Sources close to the family say it is ‘ironic’ that Misa, the doctor in the family, is being kept out, while brother Tej Pratap is being made Health Minister.

Tejaswi won from the family bastion of Raghopur by 22,733 votes and Tej Pratap won from Mahua by a margin of 28,155 votes. Misa Bharti, after her defeat in the Lok Sabha elections in 2014, was not given a ticket this time.