PATNA: Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar is likely to resign from the Bihar Legislative Council today (March 30). On March 16, Nitish was elected to the Rajya Sabha.
As per the Constitution, when a member of a state legislature is elected to Parliament, they must resign within 14 days of the election. “Nitish Kumar was elected to the Rajya Sabha on March 30. Under this law, he will submit his resignation from the Bihar Legislative Council today,” a senior JD(U) leader said.
BJP national president Nitin Nabin, who was supposed to resign from the state Legislative Assembly on Sunday, is also set to resign today. Though preparations were made at the Assembly for the purpose on Sunday, Nabin had to leave for Delhi due to certain reasons.
Both Nitish and Nabin are expected to resign from the Bihar Legislative Council and the Bihar Legislative Assembly, respectively. Preparations for their resignations have been made at the Assembly secretariat, sources said.
March 30 is the last day for submission of their resignations, according to the Prohibition of Simultaneous Membership Rules, 1950 (under Articles 101/190 of the Constitution). This provision applies to all cases where a legislator is elected to Parliament while still holding a state-level position.
Last week, JD(U) national working president Sanjay Kumar Jha said he was not aware when Nitish Kumar would relinquish the post of Chief Minister, but confirmed that he would quit as a member of the Legislative Council on or before the deadline.
Meanwhile, political activity has intensified over the formation of a new government in Bihar under a new Chief Minister. Intense lobbying has reportedly begun within the BJP, with indications that the party may have its own Chief Minister for the first time. A top BJP leader said the CM could be from an RSS background.
Though the party had attempted to replace Nitish with one of its leaders after the 2020 Assembly elections, circumstances did not favour the move, resulting in Nitish Kumar continuing as Chief Minister.
After the 2025 Assembly elections, in which the NDA registered a landslide victory, Nitish again took oath as CM for a record tenth time. However, he may have to relinquish the post in less than five months.
On Saturday, Bihar Assembly Speaker Prem Kumar visited Delhi to attend a function but had to return to Patna the same evening after being informed by BJP state president Sanjay Saraogi that Nitin Nabin intended to resign from the Assembly.
The Speaker was reportedly left waiting, as Nabin departed for Delhi for an important meeting. He later returned to his residence after being informed that Nabin would not be submitting his resignation that day due to “unavoidable reasons.”