)
Within weeks after taking over the reins of Bihar, new Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi on Monday inducted 14 new ministers in his cabinet. It's the first expansion in the Manjhi's government.
Apart from induction of new faces in his council of ministers, the Chief Minister has also changed the portfolios of most of his ministers.
Most prominent inclusion in the cabinet is of former Chief Minister and Senior Janata Dal (United) leader Nitish Kumar's close aides Rajiv Ranjan alias Lalan Singh and Shrawan Kumar.
The list also includes the names of two women legislators, Ranju Gita and Bima Bharti along with two Muslim faces – Javed Iqbal Ansari and Naushad Alam. Meanwhile RJD defectors Samrat Chaudhary and Ram Lakhan Ram Raman have also took oath as cabinet ministers. They along with Ansari deserted the RJD just before the general elections.
At the same time, several upper caste leaders including Mahachandra Singh and Jay Kumar Singh have also been given ministerial berths in the cabinet. Governor DY Patil administered oath to these ministers at Raj Bhawan.
Several of these ministers are considered more loyal to Nitish Kumar than Manjhi. Kumar had resigned last month after the JD (U)'s poor performance in the Lok Sabha elections. Later he chose his close aide Jitan Ram Manjhi to replace him, who took oath as Bihar's new Chief Minister on May 20.
On the other hand, the chief minister has also changed portfolios of several senior ministers in the state government. Former Energy Minister Bijendra Yadav would now be the Finance Minister, meanwhile Bhim Singh has been appointed as new Industry Minister. Lalan Singh would head the mammoth Road Construction Department, while Ranju Gita has been made in-charge of Sugarcane Department.
