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Zeeshan Shaikh
Zeeshan Shaikh covers news at India.com. You can follow him on Twitter @skzeeshanusman ... Read More
Patna, November 19: Nitish Kumar is all set to take oath as the Chief Minister of Bihar on Friday, speculations are all time high as who might enter the cabinet of Bihar’s strongman.
Politicians from left, right and centre had accepted Nitish’s invitation to attend the swearing-in ceremony at the Gandhi Maidan on Friday where leaders from every state will attend the programme. Read Also: (Rajiv Pratap Rudy, Venkaiah Naidu to represent Union Government in Nitish Kumar’s swearing-in)
The leaders of RJD-Congress who were part of the Grand Alliance is also expected some seats in cabinet after they won under the leadership of Nitish Kumar against Narendra Modi.
With Lalu Prasad Yadav’s party emerges as the single largest party in Bihar elections are likely to control over the second top post position of Deputy Chief Minister.
Lalu Yadav’s son Tej Pratap and Tejaswi Yadav, who contested for the first time in Bihar election and won are expected to get ministerial berths. Some report suggest that Tejaswi Yadav will be given as the position of Deputy Chief Minister and Misa Bharti Devi, daughter of Lalu will be nominated for Rajya Sabha.
Reports suggest that the Grand Alliance will divide cabinet seats on the basis of 1 ministerial berth on five MLA’s formula. This would give RJD 16 berths, JD(U) 15 and Congress only five.
According to reports, RJD has asked for portfolios such as finance, road construction and agriculture and more key ministries. The Congress is eyeing on the speakers post in Bihar Assembly. However JD (U) will keep the home department along with the eduication where they have been specialist in last few years.
The stage is set for the ceremony at the Gandhi Maidan here that will be attended among others by ally Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi, former Prime Minister H D Devegowda, NCP chief Sharad Pawar, his National Conference counterpart Farooq Abdullah and Congress leaders in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge and Ghulam Nabi Azad.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who did an aggressive campaign against Kumar-Lalu Prasad combine during the elections, was invited by the Chief Minister to attend the function. But he will not be present and has instead deputed union ministers M Venkaiah Naidu and Rajiv Pratap Rudy.
Lalu Prasad, who jointly steered the JD(U)-RJD-Congress combine to a stunning victory, will be present tomorrow along as well as JD(U) President Sharad Yadav.
Not all the non-BJP leaders present at tomorrow’s function could together in one front because of their mutually antagonistic positions in states concerned but still some of them could, said political observers.
West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee and counterparts from Delhi and Uttar Pradesh Arvind Kejriwal, UP CM Akhilesh Yadav and Sikkim CM P K Chamling have been invited along with chief ministers of Congress-ruled states.
They are Virbhadra Singh (Himachal Pradesh), Karnataka Siddaramaiah (Karnataka), Tarun Gogoi (Assam), Ibobi Singh (Manipur) and Nabam Tuki (Arunachal Pradesh).
CPI(M) General Secretary Sitaram Yechury, D Raja of CPI, whose parties contested against the JD(U) led combine and but are anti-BJP in nature, and M K Stalin of the DMK have also confirmed their participation.
A notable presence will be that of BJP ally Shiv Sena, which has accepted the invitation and decided to send two Maharashtra Ministers Ram Das Kadam and Subhash Desai to the function. Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray himself was invited by Kumar but he has expressed his inability to attend the ceremony
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