In a clear signal of strong centralised control, Bihar’s new Chief Minister Samrat Chaudhary has kept as many as 29 key departments with himself, just a day after being sworn in as the state’s first BJP Chief Minister on Wednesday, ending Nitish Kumar’s long 20-year era.
The portfolio allocation, notified by the Bihar government on Wednesday, gives the CM charge of crucial ministries including Home, General Administration, Health, Agriculture, Road Construction, Urban Development, Revenue and Land Reforms, Law, Industry, Tourism, Sports, Art & Culture, Disaster Management, and several welfare departments for backward classes, SC/ST, and others.
This wide net covers law and order, development, health, and economic sectors, leaving little doubt about who will call the shots in the new NDA government.
Deputy Chief Minister Vijay Kumar Chaudhary (JD(U)) has been allotted 10 departments, including Water Resources, Education, Higher Education, Rural Development, Transport, Building Construction, Minority Welfare, and Parliamentary Affairs.
The other Deputy Chief Minister, Vijendra Prasad Yadav (also JD(U)), received 8 important portfolios, including Energy, Finance, Planning & Development, Commercial Taxes, Prohibition & Excise, Social Welfare, Food & Consumer Protection, and Rural Works.
With these three leaders holding all 47 portfolios between them for now, the allocation reflects a tight, streamlined power structure in the post-Nitish Bihar. Samrat Chaudhary, who hails from a political family, appears set to drive governance directly on core issues like law and order, agriculture, and infrastructure.
Political watchers see this as both a move for quick decision-making and a way to keep alliance equations balanced while the full cabinet expansion is still awaited. For the people of Bihar, the big question now is whether this concentrated power will translate into faster development or bring fresh challenges in managing such a heavy workload.
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