Freshly inducted ministers hope new Nitish govt will be stronger

Ministers who took oath on Tuesday as part of an expansion of Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's cabinet exuded confidence that the new government will be stronger than the previous regimes.

Several of the ministers, who held portfolios in previous coalition regimes in Bihar, said the present government is stronger than the earlier ones.

After taking oath again as a minister, Anita Devi of RJD said her focus will be on development.

She thanked RJD president Lalu Prasad Yadav, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, his deputy Tejashwi Yadav, and Tej Pratap and Rabri Devi for giving her a chance to again become a minister.

She was a minister in the previous Mahagathbandhan or Grand Alliance government from 2015-17.

Jayant Raj of JD(U), who was a minister in the NDA government, said the people of Bihar have faith in Nitish Kumar.

''The new government will be stronger than the previous one,'' he said.

Sheela Kumari Mandal of JD(U), who again became the transport minister, a portfolio she held in the previous government, seconded Raj.

''People of Bihar trust Nitish Kumar. He has been successful in whatever he has done. So, there is nothing to be worried about,'' she said.

Meanwhile, Mahagathbandhan supporters took to the streets of Patna after the cabinet expansion.

Supporters of the ruling coalition carried flags of the constituent parties and raised slogans hailing the party leaders including Nitish Kumar and Tejashwi Yadav.

Thirty-one ministers took oath of office during the day, with the RJD getting the lion's share and care having been taken to represent all sections of the society, including the minorities.

Sixteen of the new ministers are from RJD, 11 from JD(U), two from Congress, one from former chief minister Jitan Ram Manjhi's Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) and one is an Independent legislator.