Bihar BJP’s agenda: Fresh faces in Union Cabinet, state unit rejig

The BJP, which won 12 seats in Bihar, five less than it won in 2019, is looking at inducting fresh faces into the Union cabinet from the state as well as restructuring its organisation in Bihar. In the previous government, there were four Union ministers from the BJP. In the 2024 elections, the party had denied a ticket to sitting MP and minister Ashwini Choubey while another minister, RK Singh, lost from Arrah. Two other union ministers — Giriraj Singh and Nityanand Rai — won from Begusarai and Ujiarpur respectively.Sources told ET that the ministerial positions would go to new leaders, keeping the caste balance in mind. Senior BJP leader and Patna Sahib MP, Ravi Shankar Prasad could make a comeback to the union cabinet after three years. Rajiv Pratap Rudy, a former minister who was asked to resign in 2017, is also in the fray to get a ministerial berth. Among Bhumihar leaders, the party could bet on young face and Nawada MP Vivek Thakur.

In certain Lok Sabha seats, a section of the traditional BJP voters drifted away from the party and the party is likely to try to address their grievances through the Cabinet before the crucial assembly elections next year.

Apart from the Cabinet, there would be major changes in the state organisation and the government too. At present, Samrat Choudhary is the state president as well as deputy chief minister of Bihar. The party will get a full-time president . Several state leaders expressed unhappiness over the state of party leadership. Choudhary was made a state president to make inroads into the 4.2% Kushwaha vote bank of the JDU. But the success on that front was limited.