Even though Bihar Assembly elections are at the end of the year, BJP has already started its preparations. The party has taken three major political steps in just three days. BJP is also planning to balance caste equations through the expansion of Nitish Kumar’s cabinet. Let’s understand the plan.
After securing victory in the Delhi elections, BJP has now focused entirely on Bihar. Although the Bihar elections are months away, BJP has already started its political strategy aggressively. The party has taken three major political steps in three days. PM Modi set the political agenda for Bihar elections through the Bhagalpur rally. Following this, BJP President JP Nadda visited Patna and assigned tasks to party leaders to sharpen their election strategy. Now, with Nitish Kumar’s cabinet expansion on Wednesday, BJP aims to maintain better chemistry within the NDA government.
BJP’s Active Role in Bihar Elections
The Bihar Assembly elections are just eight months away, but BJP has already become active. On Monday, PM Modi sounded the election bugle for Bihar. Just two days after his visit, the Nitish Cabinet expansion is set to take place, which will increase BJP’s influence in the state government. With this, BJP has started weaving its political plans, making three major moves in just three days.
Cabinet Expansion to Strengthen BJP’s Position
Nitish Kumar’s cabinet expansion is scheduled for Wednesday at 4 PM. Bihar government can have a maximum of 36 ministers. After Dr. Dilip Jaiswal resigned from his ministerial post, seven ministerial positions are now vacant. When Nitish formed the government with BJP in January 2024 after leaving the Grand Alliance, 30 ministers were appointed. Among them, BJP had 16 ministers, including two Deputy Chief Ministers.
JD(U) had 13 ministers, while one minister was from Jitan Ram Manjhi’s party. Now, with Dilip Jaiswal resigning due to his appointment as BJP’s state president, BJP is likely to fill these seven positions. All new ministers will be from the BJP, which is seen as a key strategy for the 2025 elections.
Increasing BJP’s Influence in Bihar Government
BJP plans to use the Nitish Cabinet expansion to strengthen its position in the government before the 2025 elections. This move is considered a masterstroke for the upcoming elections. It will not only increase BJP’s dominance in the Bihar government but also help the party create a strong caste and regional balance, sending a political message to the voters.
Currently, there are 15 ministers from the BJP in Nitish’s cabinet. If seven more are added, BJP will have 22 ministers out of the total 37 in the Bihar government, whereas JD(U) will have only 13. This means BJP will have almost double the number of ministers compared to JD(U), making BJP the dominant partner in the government.
BJP’s Plan to Balance Caste and Regional Equations
Through this cabinet expansion, BJP aims to create a caste and regional balance in Bihar. After the resignation of Revenue Minister Dr. Dilip Jaiswal, BJP is likely to replace him with another leader from the Vaishya community. To gain the support of upper-caste voters, the party may appoint one Rajput and one Bhumihar minister. Additionally, one Dalit and three OBC ministers may be appointed, including two from extremely backward classes and one from the Yadav community.
According to sources, the new ministers in Nitish’s cabinet could be:
- Sunil Kumar (Kushwaha community)
- Motilal Prasad (Extremely Backward Caste)
- Sanjay Sarawgi (Vaishya community)
- Raju Singh (Rajput community)
- Jivesh Mishra (Bhumihar community)
- Krishna Kumar Mantu (Kurmi community)
- Vijay Mandal (Extremely Backward Caste)
This way, BJP is trying to send a strong political message to every caste in Bihar.
PM Modi Set the Election Agenda
PM Modi’s visit to Bihar three days ago set the political foundation for the cabinet expansion. During his rally in Bhagalpur, he showcased strong chemistry with Nitish Kumar while announcing several development projects for Bihar. He played the dual card of Hindutva and development while criticizing Lalu Prasad Yadav’s tenure as “jungle raj.” This clarified BJP’s agenda for the Bihar elections.
While addressing the rally, PM Modi criticized the previous Congress and RJD governments, saying they had pushed Bihar into darkness. He emphasized that the BJP government had sent more financial aid directly to farmers’ accounts than what previous governments had allocated for agriculture as a whole. He also remarked that “those who could eat animal fodder (referring to Lalu’s fodder scam) can never improve the condition of Bihar.”
PM Modi also attacked the opposition, claiming that they insult Hindu traditions and religious events like the Kumbh Mela. He made it clear that BJP will contest the elections on the issues of development and cultural pride.
JP Nadda Assigned Election Tasks
Following PM Modi’s visit, BJP President JP Nadda arrived in Patna on Tuesday. He held a meeting with BJP leaders to strategize the election campaign and assign tasks. After the meeting, Bihar Minister Neeraj Kumar Bablu revealed that Nadda reviewed the performance of different departments and discussed development projects.
Nadda also assigned specific tasks to leaders to achieve ‘Mission 2025.’ He later met CM Nitish Kumar at the state guest house, where Bihar’s Deputy CMs Samrat Choudhary and Vijay Sinha, along with senior leaders Mangal Pandey and Vijay Choudhary, were present.
This meeting focused on finalizing the cabinet expansion and strengthening the NDA alliance for the upcoming elections. BJP is now fully prepared for the Bihar elections, with clear strategies and leadership directions.
Conclusion
BJP has taken three major political steps within three days—PM Modi setting the election agenda, JP Nadda assigning tasks to BJP leaders, and the expansion of Nitish Kumar’s cabinet to strengthen caste and regional equations. With these moves, BJP has begun its aggressive campaign for the Bihar Assembly elections, aiming to dominate the state’s political landscape in 2025.
