Patna: In Bihar’s newly constituted cabinet under Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, the numbers tell only half the story.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leads the pack with 14 ministers, including two deputy chief ministers, while the Janata Dal (United) has just nine, counting the chief minister himself.
Yet, when it comes to the real measure of power — budget share — the JD(U) has pulled far ahead.
According to the state’s latest allocations, the BJP’s ministries account for just 29.22% of Bihar’s Rs. 3.16 lakh crore annual budget. In sharp contrast, the departments held by Nitish Kumar and his JD(U) colleagues make up a commanding 65.73% of total expenditure capacity.
Smaller allies, smaller budgets
The remaining ministries have gone to NDA partners in proportion to their political weight — and in some cases, less:
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LJP (Ram Vilas): Two ministers
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HAM (S) (Jitan Ram Manjhi): One minister with budget share of just 0.58%
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RLM (Upendra Kushwaha): One minister with 3.56% — notably higher than the HAM and LJP ministers combined
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Miscellaneous portfolios with 0.91% remain under the chief minister’s direct control
The numbers show how decisively the JD(U) has guarded the state’s core governance levers.
Who controls Bihar’s biggest ministries?
The largest purse sits with Education Minister Sunil Kumar of the JD(U) , who oversees a massive annual budget of Rs. 60,964.87 crore — nearly one-fifth of the state’s total spending.
Among BJP ministers, Mangal Pandey, holding Health and Law, controls the highest allocation on the saffron side, with combined budgets touching Rs. 20,035.80 crore for health and Rs. 1,681.72 crore for law.
Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary, who also handles Home Affairs, commands a portfolio worth Rs. 17,831.21 crore.
JD(U) retains key development ministries
The JD(U) ’s grip strengthens further in high-impact development portfolios:
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Rural Development: Shravan Kumar – Rs. 16,093.46 crore
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Water Resources: Vijay Kumar Choudhary – Rs. 7,451.15 crore
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Energy: Bijendra Prasad Yadav, controlling a standalone Rs. 13,484.35 crore, alongside Planning, Finance, Prohibition and Commercial Tax
JD(U) ministers also appear to hold more multi-departmental portfolios compared with their BJP counterparts.
What about BJP’s most valuable ministries?
The BJP still controls a few high-performing sectors:
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Road Construction: Nitin Nabin– Rs. 6,806.53 crore
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Urban Development: Nitin Nabin– Rs. 11,982.26 crore
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Agriculture: Ramkripal Yadav – Rs. 3,528.22 crore
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SC/ST Welfare: Lakhendra Kumar Roshan – a major Rs. 12,935.65 crore allocation
The combined budget of BJP’s urban and road portfolios adds up to Rs. 18,788.79 crore, giving the party a significant but not dominant fiscal presence.
RLM holds a surprise heavyweight portfolio
Among smaller allies, RLM’s Deepak Prakash emerges unexpectedly influential, holding Panchayati Raj, a department with a sizeable Rs. 11,302.52 crore budget — larger than many BJP-controlled portfolios.
By comparison, HAM’s and LJP’s ministries remain marginal in financial terms.
A cabinet of contrasts
The cabinet showcases a peculiar political arithmetic:
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BJP dominates numerically, but…
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JD(U) dominates financially, controlling the ministries that effectively determine Bihar’s development trajectory.
