Three women were sworn in as Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar expanded his council of ministers on Tuesday days after he ended his alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and formed the government with the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD)-led Grand Alliance.
Sheela Mandal and Leshi Singh of Kumar’s Janata Dal (United) or JD (U) were part of the previous government as well. RJD’s Anita Devi is the third women minister in the 33-member council of ministers of the new government. There were also three women ministers in the previous government.JD (U) leader Kiran Ranjan said that women play a decisive role in the success of any political party. “But when it comes to representation in the government, they are pushed behind,” said Ranjan.
Kanchanbala, a social activist, said that there is nothing new for women. “We expected a respectable number of women in the new Cabinet. It seems women still have to go a long way in the state,” said Kanchanbala.
