CMs minus Home: Bihar joins a rare list of states with divided responsibilities

Bihar has seen a major shift in government with the Home portfolio going to the BJP for the first time.

After a sweeping victory, where the BJP emerged as the single-largest party with 89 seats, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar last Friday handed over the crucial department to Deputy CM Samrat Choudhary.

In Bihar, as in most states, chief ministers traditionally retain the Home department because it provides direct command over law and order, and the police. Yet, a few states currently diverge from this convention, with the Home department held by a Deputy CM or a Cabinet minister.

In Gujarat, where the BJP has been in power since 1998, CMs have usually kept the Home department. Current Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel also held it until the recent Cabinet reshuffle, when it was allocated