New DelhiNovember 16, 2025 07:14 PM IST
First published on: Nov 16, 2025 at 07:14 PM IST
The BJP and the JD(U) contested an equal number of seats in the Bihar Assembly elections (101 each) and an initial proposal on government formation floated in the NDA ahead of talks on the matter suggests an equal number of ministerial berths for the two biggest members of the ruling alliance. According to this formula, the Chirag Paswan-led Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) may be offered two ministerial positions and the Upendra Kushwaha-led Rashtriya Lok Morcha (RLM) and Jitan Ram Manjhi’s Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) may be given one department each.
“This is the formula on the table and consultations are going on. There could be major changes in the portfolio distribution and the discussions are focusing on that too,” said a source. The newly elected JD(U) MLAs will meet in Patna on Monday, after which Chief Minister Nitish Kumar is expected to meet the Governor and submit his resignation, paving the way for the formation of the new government. The BJP Legislature Party is likely to meet on Tuesday, according to sources.
The BJP is the single-largest party with 89 seats, followed by the JD(U) at 85, the LJP (RV) at 19, the HAM(S) at five, and the RLM at four. In 2020, the BJP was the largest party in the NDA with 74 seats, followed by the JD(U) at 43. In the outgoing government, the BJP had 22 ministers while the Nitish Kumar-led party had only 12.
With the term of the 17th Bihar Assembly set to expire on November 22, the swearing-in ceremony “may take place on Wednesday or Thursday”, said the source.
According to BJP insiders, after the alliance’s win on Friday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, BJP president J P Nadda, and BJP general secretary (organisation) B L Santhosh met briefly at the party headquarters in Delhi to discuss government formation.
While there is a consensus in the BJP that Nitish Kumar, whose goodwill and governance track record played a key role in the NDA’s landslide win, will continue as CM, there is no decision yet on the Deputy CMs. The accusations of corruption and irregularities in poll affidavits raised against outgoing Deputy CM Samrat Choudhary, first by Jan Suraaj leader Prashant Kishor and then by former Union Minister R K Singh, had led to questions about whether he would be retained, party insiders said. But others in the party said the decisive mandate for the NDA overall and Choudhary’s victory from Tarapur mean that voters had rejected these allegations. They pointed out that PM Modi had mentioned Choudhary and Vijay Kumar Sinha, the other Deputy CM in the outgoing government, when thanking NDA leaders in his victory speech.