Overview
- An official notification assigned the Home Department to Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary, ending Nitish Kumar’s two-decade hold on the portfolio.
- Choudhary assumed charge and warned offenders that police have full freedom to act, with the entire chain of command from DGP to DSP reporting to him.
- JD(U)’s Bijendra Prasad Yadav received Finance, while Nitish Kumar retained general administration, the cabinet secretariat and vigilance.
- The BJP holds 14 of 26 cabinet berths, and analysts say control of the ‘super ministry’ strengthens the party’s leverage within the NDA government.
- Opposition leaders and civil-society voices flagged risks of heavy-handed policing and revived past allegations involving Choudhary, even as supporters anticipate a clampdown on crime and illegal infiltration in Seemanchal.