Bihar Cabinet: Nitish-Modi’s anti-dynasty stand undercut by surge of political heirs

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, who took oath for a record 10th term earlier this week, often positions himself as a staunch critic of “parivarvaad” (dynastic politics). Yet his new 26-member cabinet, sworn in alongside him on November 20, tells a different story. Dynastic influence remains deeply entrenched, and many in his cabinet come from established political families.

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Despite his public detachment from family politics and repeated claims that no one from his home has ever sought political office, Nitish’s government continues to reinforce political legacies through party choices and alliances. At least 10 new ministers in the Bihar cabinet are products of political dynasties.

Political heirs take charge

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who attended the grand swearing-in ceremony, witnessed ministers who are wives, sons, daughters and daughters-in-law of prominent political families taking oath. This comes even though both Nitish and Modi have consistently targeted the Congress and RJD over dynastic politics. During the high-decibel month-long election campaign in October–November, they repeatedly warned voters of the “return of jungle raj” under the RJD and accused Lalu Prasad’s family of promoting corruption and lawlessness.

Modi has frequently criticised family-run parties, even calling them a threat to democracy during the 2024 Lok Sabha campaign. The irony, however, is that the BJP’s own smaller allies in Bihar – Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM), Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas), and Rashtriya Lok Morcha (RLM) – are themselves controlled by prominent political families.

Among the ministers inducted into Nitish’s new cabinet, several dynastic figures have found space. These include BJP MLAs Samrat Chaudhary, Nitin Nabin, Rama Nishad and Shreyasi Singh; JD(U) legislators Vijay Kumar Choudhary and Sunil Kumar; and JD(U) MLC Ashok Choudhary, who did not contest the polls but was made minister. From the allies’ quota, HAM MLC Santosh Suman and RLM leader Dipak Prakash were also sworn in. All belong to well-known political families in Bihar.

According to sources in LJP(R), party leader and Union Minister Chirag Paswan, who calls himself Modi’s “Hanuman”, initially pushed for his brother-in-law Arun Bharti to be appointed deputy chief minister. When the BJP refused, Chirag shifted strategy and instead ensured the induction of two newly elected party MLAs, dropping the idea of accommodating Bharti, an MP from Jamui. LJP(R) won 19 of the 29 seats it contested. Chirag, the only son of the late Union Minister Ram Vilas Paswan, comes from one of Bihar’s most prominent Dalit political families. Paswan not only founded the LJP but also paved political paths for his brothers Ramchander Paswan and Pashupati Kumar Paras, both MPs and ministers at different points.

Samrat takes centre stage

Take BJP’s Samrat Chaudhary, now one of the most powerful figures in the government. He won from Tarapur, his family’s traditional stronghold in Munger. His father, veteran socialist leader and former minister Shakuni Chaudhary, won the seat six times and was once close to both Lalu Prasad and Nitish Kumar. Shakuni was among the founding members of the Samata Party in the mid-1990s.

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Samrat, an OBC leader from the influential Kushwaha (Koeri) community, has emerged as the BJP’s face in Bihar after being elected leader of the BJP legislature party on November 19. He previously served as deputy chief minister from January 2024 to November 19, 2025, and is set to continue in the post. Crucially, he has been given charge of the Home Department, a portfolio Nitish Kumar held since 2005. For the first time, the home portfolio is with a BJP leader instead of Nitish.

A senior BJP leader said Samrat’s rise reflects support from Amit Shah. He is not from a traditional RSS background and joined the BJP only in 2018 after stints with the RJD and JD(U). His current prominence, the leader said, helps consolidate the BJP’s support base among Kushwahas. Shah had even promised at a Tarapur rally that Modi would make Samrat a “bada aadmi” (big man). With control of the Home Department, Samrat is now being projected as the new “Sushasan Babu.”

Dynastic allies gain ground

Another dynastic appointment is Santosh Suman, the elder son of Union Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi. Manjhi, a former chief minister, who calls himself Modi’s “chela,” despite being older than the prime minister. Suman, the national president of HAM, has been a minister in Nitish-led governments since 2000. HAM won five of the six seats it contested in this election. Notably, Manjhi’s daughter-in-law Deepa Manjhi and his son’s mother-in-law Jyoti Manjhi are also MLAs. The party remains tightly controlled by Manjhi’s family, with Manjhi himself still the de facto head.

Another new minister, Dipak Prakash of the RLM, did not contest the election but secured a cabinet berth. He is the elder son of RLM chief and former Union Minister Upendra Kushwaha. Until November 19, speculation suggested his mother, Snehlata Kushwaha, an MLA from Sasaram, would be made minister. But in the final hours, the party chose Dipak instead. RLM won four of the six seats it contested. Now, Upendra Kushwaha is a Rajya Sabha MP, his wife is an MLA, and his son is a minister. Party insiders say Kushwaha had initially wanted to field Dipak from the Mahua seat, but it went to LJP(R) under the NDA’s seat-sharing formula. He has reportedly been promised an MLC seat for his son.

Families extend political reach

Among the BJP’s other dynastic figures is Nitin Nabin, son of former party leader Navin Kumar Sinha. Sinha, along with Sushil Kumar Modi and Ashwini Kumar Choubey, was among the leading faces of the BJP before the NDA came to power in 2005. Nitin Nabin entered politics following his father’s sudden death after Nitish’s first NDA government took office.

Rama Nishad, wife of former BJP MP Ajay Nishad and daughter-in-law of former Union Minister Jai Narain Prasad Nishad, is another first-time MLA whose political lineage helped her secure a cabinet berth.

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Shreyasi Singh, the shooter-turned-politician, is the daughter of former Union Minister Digvijay Singh, a five-time MP once close to Nitish during the Samata Party era. Her mother, Putul Singh, is also a former MP.

JD(U)’s Ashok Choudhary, son of former Congress minister Mahavir Choudhary and a close associate of Nitish, has also been inducted despite being targeted by Jan Suraaj founder Prashant Kishor over corruption allegations. Ashok, a former Congress state president before joining JD(U), is also the father of Sambhavi Choudhary, a young LJP(R) MP.

JD(U)’s Vijay Kumar Choudhary, who won from Sarairanjan, is the son of former Congress MLA Jagdish Prasad Choudhary. Similarly, Sunil Kumar, an IPS officer-turned-politician, is the son of former minister Chandrika Ram and brother of ex-MLA Anil Kumar. Lesi Singh, another JD(U) minister, is the widow of a Samata Party leader and gangster who was shot dead in a courtroom two decades ago.

Nitish stands apart alone

Ashok Choudhary, a Dalit; Vijay Kumar Choudhary, a powerful Bhumihar; and Lesi Singh, from the influential Rajput community, are among Nitish’s long-time loyalists and have served as ministers for over a decade.

In Bihar politics, the NDA, particularly the BJP, rarely misses an opportunity to attack its principal rival, the RJD, for dynasty politics. But the composition of the new cabinet reveals a stark contradiction: the BJP and its allies are firmly rooted in the very practices they criticise.

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The RJD too is steeped in family politics. Lalu Prasad’s wife Rabri Devi is an MLC, his younger son Tejashwi Yadav is set to become Leader of Opposition, his elder daughter Misa Bharti is an MP, and his elder son Tej Pratap Yadav is a former minister. But what distinguishes Nitish is that no member of his family has entered politics so far. Rumours about his only son, Nishant Kumar, joining politics have never materialised.

However, after the NDA’s landslide victory, voices have again emerged urging Nishant to enter politics and take charge of JD(U). With Nitish now 74 and yet to name a political heir, all eyes remain on him, and on whether his son will eventually add another name to Bihar’s long list of political dynasties.