Yeh Dil Maange More: Why Bihar Felt Cheated In Modi Govt Reshuffle

Bihar looked forward to the much-awaited expansion of the Narendra Modi ­government with bated breath, hoping for a larger representation. If speculation in the run-up to the reshuffle was anything to go by, it seemed as if this was a foregone conclusion. But that was not to be. The biggest shock was for the Bihar BJP, with Ravi Shankar Prasad axed from the cabinet. Sushil Kumar Modi, brought to the Rajya Sabha by the BJP’s top brass after last year’s Bihar election, was expected to get a plum portfolio, but was ­eventually not anointed as minister. Despite Giriraj Singh and Raj Kumar Singh being promoted to cabinet rank, and Ashwini Kumar Chaubey ­retaining his place as a state minister with changed portfolios, Bihar’s representation plummeted to an all-time low.

Besides, as the JD(U) had finally agreed to join the Modi government after Nitish’s previous refusal when his party was given only one cabinet berth, it was assumed that the JD(U) would get a fair share now. Political pundits predicted at least two cabinet and two state ministerial berths for the party. But all expectations were dashed to the ground on July 7, with JD(U) ­getting only one cabinet berth—the steel ministry for its national president R.C.P. Singh (in pic). Pashupati Kumar Paras, leader of a breakaway faction of the LJP, filled the slot left vacant since the demise of his brother Ram Vilas Paswan last year.  

In the past 20 years or so, Bihar invariably got the lion’s share of ­cabinet berths, including key ­portfolios like railways—from 1996 to 2009, except for a brief period, ­Paswan, Nitish and Lalu Prasad Yadav took turns as railway minister. The UPA-1 government had more than 10 ministers from Bihar, belonging to the RJD, the LJP and the Congress. ­Earlier, the Atal Bihari Vajpayee ­government also had several ­ministers from Bihar—from Ravi Shankar Prasad, Dr C.P. Thakur and Shatrughan Sinha to Rajiv Pratap Rudy and Syed Shahnawaz Hussain.

Even in 2014, when NDA won 31 out of 40 seats from Bihar, the state had nine ministers, including Rajiv Pratap Rudy, who was dropped midway through Modi’s first term. In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, NDA won a whopping 39 seats, but Bihar could get only five ministerial berths as the JD(U) declined to join the cabinet. The number remains the same after the latest expansion.

Post exclusion, Sushil Modi has earned sympathy from opposition ­parties like the Congress, but the RJD appears to be rejoicing about it. ­“Narendra Modi did not include Sushil Modi because he did not do anything for Bihar,” says RJD leader Bhai ­Virendra. The expansion has also kicked up a row within the JD(U). Lalan Singh, one of the front-runners for a cabinet berth, says the JD(U) had refused to join the ministry when ­Nitish was its national president. “Now, it is R.C.P. Singh,” he says, ­indicating that it is the party ­president’s call, though it is an open secret that it is not possible to bypass Nitish on such ­matters. But then, why did Nitish accept “symbolic ­representation” after all these years? If Chirag Paswan—locked in a running feud with the CM—is to be believed, Nitish sacrificed his party leaders to make Paras a minister just to spite him. 

(This appeared in the print edition as "A Letdown for Bihar")