Patna: Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary may have bagged the coveted Home portfolio in the latest Bihar cabinet reshuffle, giving him direct command over the state police, but Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has quietly retained the real reins of bureaucratic power by keeping the all-important General Administration Department (GAD) with himself.
Political circles in Patna are abuzz with talk of a classic Nitish-style power-balancing act. While Samrat now signs files related to law and order and heads the Home Department, the crucial lever of transferring and posting IAS and IPS officers – including senior police officials – remains firmly in the CM’s hands through GAD.
Sources confirm that in the cabinet notification for portfolio distribution issued this week, there was no mention of GAD being allocated to any minister. In Bihar’s administrative tradition, silence on GAD means it stays with the Chief Minister. The department controls promotions, disciplinary action, and postings by every top bureaucrat, effectively making the CM the final authority on who serves where – even in the police force that reports to the Home Minister on paper.
“Samrat has the police force, but Nitish has the officers who run it,” a senior BJP leader remarked privately. “The DY CM can issue orders, but if GAD transfers a key SP or DIG overnight, the ground reality shifts within hours.”
Insiders describe the arrangement as Nitish Kumar’s masterstroke to ensure the alliance partner gets visibility and responsibility without ceding complete administrative control in a state.