Patna: Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar began his tenth term with a new council of ministers that includes only one Muslim member. Mohammad Zama Khan, an MLA from Chainpur in Kaimur district, secured a place in the cabinet from the JD(U) quota. He is the only Muslim legislator in the NDA, which won 202 seats in the 243 member assembly.
Zama Khan has built his presence in Chainpur over the past two election cycles. He first won the seat in 2020 on a BSP ticket with a margin of nearly 35,000 votes. He later shifted to the JD(U) and entered the state cabinet as the Minority Affairs Minister in the seventh Nitish Kumar ministry. In the latest assembly election, he won again from Chainpur with a margin of 8,362 votes against Brij Kishor Bind of the Rashtriya Janata Dal.
The new Bihar cabinet has 26 ministers. Fourteen are from the BJP and eight are from the JD(U). The rest represent smaller NDA allies, including LJPRV, HAM and RLM. Five ministers are Dalits. Eight belong to upper castes. Three Yadav leaders are also part of the cabinet. The council has space for 36 members, which is the upper limit set for Bihar.
Zama Khan’s inclusion holds importance for the Muslim community, given the limited representation in the ruling alliance. His continued presence in the cabinet signals an attempt by the JD(U) to maintain at least one voice for minority issues in the government.
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