Patna (Bihar) [India], November 20 : Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) on Thursday took a dig at the National Democratic Alliance's (NDA) newly elected MLAs who took oath to be inducted into the new Bihar cabinet.
During the election campaign for the recently concluded Bihar assembly polls, the ruling NDA, including the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Janata Dal (United), had constantly criticised the opposition RJD and Congress for furthering "dynastic politics".
In a post on X, RJD jibed at the ruling NDA leaders who swore in as ministers today in the newly formed Bihar government for accusing the Mahagathbandhan of "dynastic politics", implying that the ruling parties were the ones doing so. RJD pointed out that several newly sworn-in ministers have family ties to politicians.
The RJD has specifically named 10 ministers, including Samrat Choudhary, Nitin Nabin, and Shreyasi Singh, highlighting their connections to established political families.
"I take a vow that with the special affection and blessings of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Shri Nitish Kumar, who are staunch opponents of dynastic politics, I will eradicate family rule from Bihar's politics and build a new Bihar," RJD said.
RJD highlighted the names of leaders with direct familial ties to those in power, including Santosh Suman Manjhi, former Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary, and Ashok Choudhary.
Santosh Suman Manjhi, according to the RJD, is the son of Union Minister Jitam Ram Manjhi, the son-in-law of MLA Jyoti Manjhi, and the husband of Deepa Manjhi. Samrat Choudhary is the son of former Minister Shakuni Choudhary and the late former MLA Parvati Devi.
RJD said that Deepak Prakash, who was sworn in as the Minister today, is the son of former Union Minister Upendra Kushwaha and MLA Snehlata. Ashok Choudhary is the son of former Minister Mahavir Choudhary and the father of Samastipur MP Shambhavi Choudhary.
"Rama Nishad, daughter-in-law of former Union Minister Captain Jai Narayan Nishad and wife of former MP Ajay Nishad. Vijay Chaudhary, son of former MLA Jagdish Prasad Chaudhary. Nitin Naveen, son of former MLA Naveen Kishor Sinha. Sunil Kumar, son of former Minister Chandrika Ram and brother of former MLA Anil Kumar. Leshi Singh, wife of former Samata Party District President late Madhusudan Singh alias Butan Singh," RJD informed.
This comes after Nitish Kumar took oath as the Chief Minister of Bihar for the record 10th time. A total of 25 leaders, apart from Nitish, took the oath today.
Notably, nearly 80% of HAM(S) newly elected MLAs are relatives of senior leaders, with Jitan Ram Manjhi's daughter-in-law, mother-in-law, and son-in-law winning seats. 12.35% of winning BJP MLAs have family links, including Samrat Choudhary and Nitish Mishra. JD(U)'s 11 winners come from political families.
The swearing-in ceremony took place at Patna's historic Gandhi Maidan, which has hosted his inaugurations in 2005, 2010, and 2015. It was at this venue that Jayaprakash Narayan called for a "total revolution" in a 1974 speech.
Bihar Governor Arif Mohammad Khan administered the oath at a grand ceremony attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Among them were Samrat Choudhary (BJP), Vijay Kumar Sinha (BJP), Vijay Kumar Choudhary (JD-U), Bijendra Prasad Yadav (JD-U), Shravan Kumar (JD-U), Mangal Pandey (BJP), Dilip Kumar Jaiswal (BJP) and Ashok Choudhary (JD-U).
Others who joined the Cabinet include Lesi Singh (JD-U), Madan Sahani (JD-U), Nitin Nabin (BJP), Ram Kripal Yadav (BJP), Santosh Kumar Suman of HAM(S), Sunil Kumar (JD-U), Mohammad Zama Khan (JD-U) and Sanjay Singh Tigar (BJP).
The list also features Arun Shankar Prasad (BJP), Surendra Mehta (BJP), Narayan Prasad (BJP), Rama Nishad (BJP), Lakhendra Kumar Raushan (BJP) and Shreyashi Singh (BJP).
Additionally, Pramod Kumar (BJP), Sanjay Kumar of LJP(RV), Sanjay Kumar Singh of LJP(RV) and Deepak Prakash of the RLM were sworn in as ministers.