Patna: Chief Minister and Janata Dal (United) national president Nitish Kumar’s resignation as an MLC (Member of Legislative Council) on Monday made it clear that Bihar was in for a tectonic shift in governance with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on the path to have its first chief minister in the state.
The resignation was due as Article 101(2) of the Constitution of India mandates that no person can simultaneously remain a member of the Parliament and a House of the state legislature. Besides, Section 69 of The Representation of The People Act, 1951, read with the rules, says that an elected person must vacate one seat within 14 days from the date of declaration or publication of the Rajya Sabha election result.
JD(U) MLC Sanjay Kumar Singh aka Sanjay Gandhi carried a ‘one-line’ resignation letter of Nitish addressed to Legislative Council chairman Awadhesh Narain Singh. It read, ‘I quit my position in the House from March 30 through this resignation letter.”
While Nitish’s quitting as an MLC was a foregone conclusion after his election to the Rajya Sabha earlier this month, it has also left several questions hovering over the political landscape of the state. ETV Bharat tries to answer them.
When is Nitish going to quit as chief minister?
According to senior JD(U) leaders, Nitish is going to quit the chief minister’s post around April 14 after taking oath as a Rajya Sabha member.
“The seat to which Nitish has been elected becomes vacant on April 9. He will be in Delhi on the day to attend the party’s first national executive after being re-elected as its president. He will take oath in the Council of States on April 10. He will return from Delhi and quit the chief minister’s post around April 14,” a senior JD(U) leader told ETV Bharat.
Though Nitish can continue as a chief minister without being a member of the state legislature for six months, he will not take recourse to it because of the fact that he himself has opted to go to the Rajya Sabha. “Nitish is a stickler for Parliamentary rules and political ethics. He followed the rules pertaining to quitting the legislative council. He will now follow the next one about taking oath as a Rajya Sabha member, and then quit as the chief minister,” the JD(U) leader said.
However, there has been no official announcement with regard to his oath in the Upper House of the Parliament or resigning from the chief minister’s post.
Who will become the next chief minister?
Everyone – leaders and workers – of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) have accepted Nitish’s decision as fait accompli, along with the next chief minister being from the BJP as the done deal. It is the largest party with 89 seats in the 243-member Assembly.
There is no dearth of leaders in the BJP’s stable. Several names are already doing rounds in the political circles about being the frontrunners to the post, and discussions are going on about how much they suit various equations in the caste-ridden society in the state. They are also being assessed in the light of Uttar Pradesh, which is equally caste-ridden and will go to poll early next year.
However, going by the precedents as seen in Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and Odisha the BJP can spring a surprise chief minister – choosing a low-profile leader, who has worked on the grassroots and also either fits or breaks various caste equations.
Several JD(U) leaders and workers are rooting for Nitish’s son Nishant Kumar as the next chief minister, but its more of an emotional appeal, rather than a practical one. At best, he could be accommodated in the new government as a deputy chief minister.
Asked about the issue, JD(U) MLC and spokesperson Neeraj Kumar, who is among those rooting for Nishant, told ETV Bharat, “The entire Bihar is sad today. We are unable to think beyond Nitish Kumar. He has set an example of sacrifice, which is rare in politics. There will be no chief minister who could be compared to him. The people of the state are worried about their welfare and the rule of law. This is the capital earned by Nitish.”
What are the challenges before the BJP?
The tectonic shift at the helm has not gone down too well with the public, especially the supporters of Nitish and his JD(U), despite the information about his deteriorating health over the past couple of years.
“The party will face the challenge of retaining the large voter’s base of non-Yadav Other Backward Classes (OBC), Extremely Backward Classes (EBC), Dalits, tribals, and women cultivated by Nitish. It will have to see that they do not crossover to the Opposition, especially Lalu Prasad’s Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD),” a senior BJP leader confided with ETV Bharat.
Nitish has been a part of the NDA since it was formed in 1998 – except brief interregnums in 2013 – 2017 and 2022 – 2024. He always kept the BJP in an assisting party’s role in Bihar while being at the helm of affairs in the state since 2005. His reign was marked by inclusive development.
In this scenario, the BJP will have to prove that it has really come of age and can rule the state in an able manner while paying attention to the development of all sections of the society.
What are the challenges before the JD(U)?
A clear and present danger of the party disintegrating in the absence of Nitish emerged as soon as he decided to go to the Rajya Sabha and quit the position of the chief minister. The splinters could have shifted their loyalties to the BJP, RJD and Congress.
However, the party quickly checked the tendencies through a two-pronged effort. Nitish’s son Nishant was inducted into the JD(U) on March 8 and Nitish himself opted to remain the party’s national president for another three-year term.
“Whether Nishant becomes the chief minister or deputy chief minister is another matter, but he will be the power centre in the JD(U). His coming has checked the tendencies of division in the party. The public has expressed its love and support for him. He will be given a suitable position in the party very soon and will work in the able guidance of Nitish,” a JD(U) leader said.
Another challenge before the JD(U) will be about its share in the new government that would be formed in the state after Nitish’s resignation. It will make efforts to take back all the ground it conceded to the BJP after the November 2025 Assembly elections. This includes the posts of two deputy chief ministers, and the powerful home department.
The JD(U) will also have to establish Nishant as the top leader who could keep the support base intact.
How will the RJD benefit from Nitish’s exit as chief minister?
There is a celebratory atmosphere in the RJD right now with musicians and dancers performing at party president Lalu Prasad’s wife and former chief minister Rabri Devi’s 10, Circular Road residence. They have been regaling Lalu and other leaders over the past two evenings, while dinner is being served to whoever is visiting the place.
The celebrations are about Nitish moving to the Rajya Sabha, because it was his ‘social engineering’ (bringing together various castes under the banner of one party) that made Lalu and Rabri repeatedly bite dust in over two decades.
“Nitish has been an incomparable career politician. With him away from active politics due to poor health or Rajya Sabha membership, there is a strong chance that a large chunk of the vote bank that shifted to the JD(U) will return to our party. It will brighten up the prospects of Tejashwi Prasad Yadav (Lalu-Rabri’s youngest son),” a senior RJD leader told ETV Bharat.
However, RJD general secretary and spokesperson Chitranjan Gagan downplayed the celebrations by pointed out that such events were a regular fixture during the heydays of the party and Lalu used to enjoy them much.
“Such dances and dinners are being organised after 2013. They are being held because Lalu ji likes them. I don’t think there is any other motive to it,” Chitranjan said.
Meanwhile, Lalu’s daughter Rohini Acharya took potshots at Nitish and the ruling alliance in Bihar. In a post on social media platform X, she wrote, “Uncle has been externed from Bihar. The BJP’s ‘operation finish Nitish’ has been completed. The BJP finally made him resign despite his unwillingness. He reaped as he sowed. He lost the chair of the chief minister, as well as, Bihar in the lust for the facilities of staying glued to the chair. The scream of his subconscious mind could be understood.”
