Patna,(BiharTimes): A day after the resignation of Industries Minister, Renu Kushwaha, from the Nitish cabinet the Janata Dal (United) MLA, Lesi Singh, was on Tuesday sworn in as minister by the governor D Y Patil.

Later talking to the media Lesi Singh thanked the chief minister Nitish Kumar for making an ordinary party worker as a minister.

But it remained a mystery as to why only one minister was inducted into the cabinet when there were reports that several new faces would be sworn in.

There are still a dozen vacancies in the state cabinet following the sacking of 11 BJP ministers from the Nitish cabinet on June 16 last and resignation of Parween Amanullah last month.

The resignation by Kushwaha from the cabinet caused a panic of a sort in the Janata Dal (United) even though she had not left the party. On Tuesday she clarified that she had resigned from the post of minister simply because morally she did not find it appropriate when her husband joined the BJP during Narendra Modi’s rally in Purnea on March 10. She was all praise for Nitish Kumar for lending full support to her.

What surprised the observers is the way the governor, who was in Mumbai, was suddenly requested to return to Patna. He did arrive at 2:40 PM only to administer oath of secrecy to just Lesie Singh.

But then why Nitish Kumar has left all the other posts vacant and only inducted Lesie in such a hurry.
Grapevine has it that Lesie was insisting on contesting Lok Sabha election. So Nitish inducted her into the cabinet to foil yet another crisis.

Baisi (Purnea) BJP MLA Santosh Kushwaha has already threatened to quit the saffron party and join the JD(U) and may get ticket from Purnea parliamentary seat. Thus Lesie was inducted into the cabinet.

But Lesi’s induction has created strong resentment within the party with MLA, Neeraj Kumar Bablu, opposing it by stating that she has a tainted image and would send a wrong message to the masses on the eve of Lok Sabha election.

Lesie is the widow of late Butan Singh, who was killed by rival gang-lord more than a decade back.

Meanwhile, the expansion of cabinet has raised another question. Can it be done when Model Code of Conduct has come into effect? Ajay Kumar Jha, faculty member in A N Sinha Institute think it is wrong as it amounts to influencing the voters.