From a first-time MLA with the largest declared movable assets to deputy chief ministers wealthier than the chief minister, an analysis of asset declarations by Bihar’s ministers throws up surprises.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and his Cabinet colleagues uploaded their asset details on the Cabinet Secretariat Department’s website on the last evening of 2025, continuing a practice started in 2011 to increase transparency in public governance and fight corruption.
The declarations reveal that Bihar’s deputy chief ministers and several senior and first-time ministers report multi-crore family wealth, while Chief Minister Nitish Kumar continues to declare assets below Rs 2 crore — largely unchanged from the previous year.
Chief Minister Nitish Kumar
Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, who heads key departments including General Administration, Cabinet Secretariat and Vigilance, declared total movable assets of Rs 17.66 lakh in 2025, up by Rs 68,455 (around 4 per cent) from Rs 16.97 lakh in 2024. His bank balances dipped marginally from Rs 60,812 in 2024 to about Rs 57,766 in 2025, while the valuation of his livestock rose from Rs 1.45 lakh to over Rs 3.5 lakh. He also owns a charkha and a treadmill.
His sole immovable asset — a flat in Delhi’s Dwarka — remains unchanged at Rs 1.48 crore. As in previous years, the chief minister reported zero liabilities.
Significantly, Kumar, along with ministers Sanjay Singh Tiger, Surendra Mehta and Sanjay Paswan, reported total personal assets below Rs 2 crore each, with minimal immovable property.
Deputy chief ministers
Among the deputy chief ministers, Samrat Choudhary (BJP), who holds the home department, reported movable assets of about Rs 1.03 crore in 2025, compared to Rs 1.08 crore in 2024. His assets include a Bolero vehicle, a rifle, a revolver gifted by his father, and 200 grams of gold. His immovable assets comprise previously declared non-agricultural land, now valued at Rs 4.91 crore. His spouse owns a residential property in Patna valued at Rs 29 lakh, while her movable assets mainly include 200 grams of gold valued at Rs 20 lakh.
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The other deputy chief minister, Vijay Kumar Sinha (BJP), who handles revenue and urban development, reported a sharp rise in movable assets to around Rs 1 crore in 2025 from Rs 18.74 lakh in 2024 — an increase of about Rs 81 lakh (around 435 per cent), largely driven by investments. His wife declared movable assets worth Rs 4.14 crore in 2025, including Rs 2.3 crore shown as capital balance in an enterprise.
Sinha’s immovable assets declined from Rs 2.42 crore in 2024 to around Rs 48 lakh in 2025 (declared at cost), while his spouse’s immovable assets were valued at Rs 3.2 crore, marginally lower than Rs 3.32 crore reported in 2024. The couple’s non-agricultural land holdings include plots in Patna and Pune.
At the time of the 2025 declaration, Sinha’s wife had outstanding loans of around Rs 24.5 lakh, and the family had government dues of approximately Rs 15.6 lakh related to a vehicle loan.
Senior Cabinet ministers
Finance and Energy Minister Bijendra Prasad Yadav reported bank deposits of Rs 2.45 crore in 2025, up from Rs 2.18 crore in 2024, an increase of Rs 27 lakh. His immovable assets remained unchanged at Rs 88 lakh.
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Rural Works Minister Ashok Choudhary declared personal movable assets of about Rs 1.98 crore in 2025, down from Rs 2.09 crore in 2024. His spouse’s movable assets fell from Rs 3.82 crore to Rs 2.61 crore, even as the valuation of the 800 grams of gold owned by her rose from Rs 56 lakh in 2024 to Rs 96 lakh in 2025. The family’s immovable assets, concentrated in Patna, are collectively valued at over Rs 5 crore, with outstanding loans of around Rs 3.5 crore.
Industries and Road Construction Minister Dilip Kumar Jaiswal (BJP) reported combined immovable assets (self and spouse) of about Rs 6.24 crore in both 2024 and 2025. Their combined movable assets rose from Rs 2.82 crore in 2024 to about Rs 3.09 crore in 2025.
Health and Law Minister Mangal Pandey (BJP) reported movable assets of Rs 1.32 crore in 2025, down from Rs 1.83 crore in 2024, a decline of Rs 51.1 lakh, mainly due to lower bank balances.
The minister declared that he owns no immovable property. His wife, however, reported immovable assets worth Rs 1.42 crore in 2025 and outstanding loans of Rs 44.5 lakh, including a Rs 22 lakh loan taken from her husband, Mangal Pandey.
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Food and Consumer Protection Minister Leshi Singh declared movable assets of Rs 94.44 lakh in 2025, compared to Rs 99.45 lakh in 2024, while her immovable assets remained unchanged at Rs 1.27 crore. She also reported an outstanding bank loan of Rs 43.67 lakh.
First-time ministers
The largest family asset base in the Cabinet belongs to Rama Nishad (BJP), Minister for Backward and Extremely Backward Class Welfare. A first-time MLA from Aurai, Rama Nishad is the daughter-in-law of late Captain Jaynarayan Nishad, a former Union Minister. She declared movable assets worth Rs 3.75 crore in 2025 — including Rs 2.17 crore in 2 kg of gold — and immovable assets valued at Rs 3.67 crore.
She is married to Ajay Nishad, a former two-term BJP MP (2014 and 2019) from Muzaffarpur, who declared movable assets of Rs 2.30 crore and immovable assets worth Rs 22.13 crore. Together, the family’s combined immovable assets stand at Rs 25.8 crore, the highest among all ministers.
Panchayati Raj Minister Deepak Prakash (RLM), son of Rajya Sabha MP and party chief Upendra Kushwaha, declared immovable assets worth Rs 4.05 crore. His personal movable assets total Rs 14.6 lakh, including a Ford Freestyle car valued at Rs 3 lakh and a Bajaj motorcycle worth Rs 30,000. Prakash has been facing criticism since taking oath for being appointed a minister despite contesting elections, and will be required to join either the Legislative Council or the Legislative Assembly in the coming months to continue in office.
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IT and Sports Minister Shreyasi Singh (BJP), a Commonwealth Games medallist and Arjuna Award recipient, declared Rs 6.09 crore in immovable assets held under a Hindu Undivided Family (HUF) and movable assets worth Rs 1.53 crore. She is the daughter of former Union Minister Digvijay Singh.
Former MP and first-time Bihar minister Ram Kripal Yadav (BJP), who holds the agriculture portfolio, declared immovable assets worth Rs 1.52 crore with no liabilities. His movable assets total Rs 21 lakh and include an old Gypsy vehicle, gold worth Rs 11.5 lakh, a rifle and a revolver.
Based on the 2025 asset declarations of serving ministers, BJP ministers collectively account for the highest cumulative asset value, exceeding Rs 70 crore in self-declared movable and immovable assets, excluding spouses. JD(U) ministers follow with cumulative assets of roughly Rs 40 crore. Ministers from HAM(S) and RLM together account for under Rs 10 crore, while the combined assets of LJP(RV) ministers are concentrated in a single high-value declaration.