The 3 ministries Nitish Kumar’s JD(U) will have its eyes on

This support, sources say, will come at a price. Unlike 2019, when the JD(U) won 16 seats but was offered a single ministerial berth, since the BJP was in majority on its own, the 12 seats it managed this time are far more valuable, party leaders say.

The party, sources said, has its eyes on Railways, Rural Development and Jal Shakti ministries. Other choices could be Transport and Agriculture. “Nitish has held railways, agriculture and transport portfolios in the NDA government. We want our MPs to take up departments that can help develop the state. Jal Shakti is crucial in the context of Bihar facing a water crisis alongside challenges of a receding water table and flooding. We could also give a push to interlinking of river projects,” said a JD(U) leader.

The Rural Development ministry, the leader reasoned, could help boost rural infrastructure and economy. “And getting Railways would of course be a matter of pride for Bihar,” he said.

That’s not all – party leaders say they would want Nitish at the helm when the NDA fights the assembly polls in Bihar next year. They also dismissed speculation that the state could see a change of guard in the near future.

Among the frontrunners for the potential ministerial berths are over half a dozen Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha JD(U) MPs. The party, sources said, will have to find a balance between accommodating an “upper caste, an OBC Kushwaha and an EBC leader”.

Those in contention include former JD(U) national president and Munger MP Lalan Singh, an “upper caste heavyweight”; Jhanjharpur MP Rampreet Mandal, an EBC leader; and Valmiki Nagar MP Sunil Kumar, from the Kushwaha community. Sitamarhi MP Devesh Chandra Thakur and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Kumar Jha could also be in the running, but Lalan Singh could have an edge because of his longstanding relationship with Nitish, sources said.