Nitish 10.0: NDA unveils caste-balanced, revamped cabinet

Shravan Kumar. Six EBC leaders — Dilip Jaiswal, Madan Sahni, Surendra Mehta, Narayan Prasad, Rama Nishad and Dr Pramod Kumar - have also been inducted.

- 

In addition, five SC leaders and one Muslim leader, Mohammad Zama Khan of the JD(U), have taken oath.

The BJP has dropped 16 sitting ministers and the JD(U) has dropped five. Those dropped by the BJP include Prem Kumar, Sanjay Saraogi, Motilal Prasad, Raju Kumar Singh, Krishna Kumar Mantoo, Renu Devi, Vijay Mandal, Kedar Gupta, Neeraj Singh, Nitish Mishra, Jibesh Mishra, Janak Ram, Sunil Kumar, Hari Sahni, Krishnanand Paswan and Santosh Singh. The JD(U) has dropped Sheela Mandal, Maheshwar Hazari, Jayant Raj, Ratnesh Sada and Sumit Kumar Singh.

JD(U) sources indicated that some of these leaders may be accommodated next year. A senior JD(U) functionary said the cabinet expansion would take place only after Makar Sankranti, when the inauspicious kharmaas period ends.

A Bihar BJP leader said dropping senior leader Prem Kumar suggests the party intends to elevate him as Speaker of the Bihar Assembly — a post the JD(U) also wants. The leader expressed confidence that the BJP would secure the Speaker's post, although JD(U) sources said discussions were still underway.