As JD(U) chief Nitish Kumar takes oath as Bihar’s Chief Minister for the 10th time with an overwhelming mandate, all eyes are on how the BJP, the party with the highest number of MLAs. The party picked five new faces for the Cabinet but opted to retain Samrat Chaudhary and Vijay Kumar Sinha as deputy chief ministers.
As per reports, eight MLAs, each from the BJP and JD(U), will take oath during the day. One ministerial berth each will likely go to the Rashtriya Lok Morcha (RLM) and the Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular), and three to Chirag Paswan's Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas).
The nine names from the BJP include Surendra Mehta, Rama Nishad, Narayan Shah, Ram Kripal, Sanjay Tiger, Mangal Pandey and Nitin Naveen. Of them, Mangal Pandey and Nitin Naveen have already served in the previous Nitish Kumar Cabinet.
Patna, Bihar: On JD(U) chief Nitish Kumar being elected as the leader of the NDA Legislative Party, BJP leader Shreyasi Singh says, "We have once again elected Nitish Kumar in the NDA meeting..." pic.twitter.com/j8kTRwaoRR
— IANS (@ians_india) November 19, 2025
Among the two women chosen by the party, it is shooter-turned-politician Shreyashi Singh who has generated the buzz.
Shooter turned politician
Shreyasi, the daughter of former Union Minister Digvijay Singh, is
a Commonwealth Games gold medalist. This 34-year-old national champion is the second-time MLA from Jamui and has won many accolades, including gold at the 2018 Commonwealth Games (Gold Coast), silver at the 2014 Commonwealth Games (Glasgow), bronze at the 2014 Asian Games (team event) and the prestigious Arjuna Awardee. She is also a former Olympian and the first from Bihar to take part in the 2024 Paris Olympics, and a gold medalist at the 61st National Shooting Championship.
Joining the party in 2020, she was fielded from Jamui in 2020 which she won by a margin of over 41,000 votes, defeating RJD’s Vijay Prakash. In 2025, he soundly defeated RJD's Mohammad Shamshad Alam.
Ally of Nitish Kumar
She is considered a close ally of Nitish Kumar, as she played a key role in the BJP-NDA's strategy. The party also sees her as a representative of the upper-caste Hindus in Bihar. Her presence also validates the BJP’s strategy of presenting a balanced mix of young faces and experienced leaders.
Though the BJP has not mentioned anything about the portfolio, speculations are that the party will want a strong and dynamic face to handle the youth, sports and rural portfolios. Shreyasi is said to fit all these check boxes. |
