Bihar cabinet expansion today: Nitish Kumar's son Nishant Kumar may join govt

PATNA: Nishant Kumar, son of JD(U) patriarch Nitish Kumar, is tipped to join the Bihar govt in CM Samrat Choudhary's first cabinet expansion Thursday, barely eight weeks after his entry into politics as the reluctant heir to his father's decades-long legacy.

News of Nishant transitioning from political rookie to minister-in-waiting came in the wake of JD(U)'s insistence on parity with BJP in the expanded cabinet. State JD(U) president Umesh Singh Kushwaha laid claim Wednesday to 16 berths for his party, double the number of ministers from his party in the previous Nitish-led govt.

BJP had 14 ministers in that govt, formed after NDA's landslide in the 2025 polls. Sources said Nishant, who has been on a "sadbhav yatra" across the state since his father quit as CM and moved to the RS on March 8, agreed to assume the ministerial role after a meet at Nitish's residence Wednesday between Union minister Rajeev Ranjan Singh and JD(U) national working president Sanjay Kumar Jha.

They convinced Nishant that joining the ministry will strengthen the party and give him governance experience, sources said.

Besides Nishant, two new faces from JD(U) are scheduled to take oath - Shailesh Kumar and B S Kushwaha. Eight JD(U) ministers from the previous govt will also be sworn in, taking the party's strength to 11 ministers.