PATNA: Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Friday handed over the key home department to the BJP, ending his nearly 20-year control of the portfolio and signalling a shift in the state’s power balance. The move, finalised after long discussions within the NDA, puts Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary in charge of home, seen as a clear sign that the new government wants to put law and order at the top of its priorities.

The transfer also comes amid criticism from within the NDA, especially from Union minister Chirag Paswan, whose LJP (RV) is now part of the coalition. Paswan had repeatedly flagged what he called the “deteriorating” law-and-order situation during the campaign.

With Choudhary now helming home, the BJP faces heightened responsibility, particularly in the sensitive Seemanchal region, where the NDA had raised concerns over illegal infiltration throughout the election season.

The JD(U) kept finance. Senior JD(U) leader Bijendra Prasad Yadav, now a nine-term MLA, will head the department. Deputy CM Vijay Kumar Sinha has been given the portfolios of revenue and land reforms, along with mines and geology. Mangal Pandey will oversee health and law.

Eighteen of the 26 ministers sworn in on Thursday received portfolios. “The other departments, which have so far not been distributed, will remain with the chief minister,” a senior official said.