PATNA: Bihar Chief Minister and JD (U) supremo Nitish Kumar, who ruled the state for more than 20 years, is likely to be nominated to the Rajya Sabha, with the BJP finally getting its own chief minister in the state for the first time.
Nitish’s son Nishant Kumar is likely to be inducted as a deputy chief minister in the new cabinet after the Rajya Sabha polls to be held on March 16. Nitish is set to file his nomination papers for the biennial election on March 5, said sources. All NDA MLAs have been asked to reach Patna on Thursday.
Bihar is the only state in the Hindi heartland where the BJP has never had its own chief minister. Senior JD(U) leaders are holding a closed-door meeting and a formal announcement about Nitish’s candidature for the Rajya Sabha polls is expected by this evening.
JD (U) working president and Rajya Sabha member Sanjay Jha also discussed the matter with Nitish and is reportedly persuading him to move to the Rajya Sabha at the twilight of his political career.
The move to shift Nitish has been anticipated since before the 2025 assembly elections. But action was not taken in haste given Kumar's illustrious track record, a senior JD(U) leader said on condition of anonymity.
Nitish, 75, has taken oath as chief minister a record 10 times. He has been in the hot seat since 2015, except for the brief period when Jitan Ram Manjhi was made chief minister after the 2014 Lok Sabha elections.
Nitish has spearheaded the campaign in Bihar -- be it for the NDA or earlier the Mahagathbandhan.
Sources said that Nitish was under pressure from NDA leaders to lift the liquor ban as the state has incurred a huge loss. At least two Union ministers—Jitan Ram Manjhi and Chirag Paswan—recently stressed the need to review the prohibition policy. However, Nitish was not ready to roll back on the issue. Once Nitish resigns and a new cabinet is formed, the prohibition policy may be revised, a top government official said.
“The state’s economic health is not good. The state had to incur a loss of over Rs 30,000 crore per annum due to prohibition. Salaries and pensions of government employees have been pending due to a fund crunch,” a top BJP leader told this reporter.
Meanwhile, the JD(U) has decided to renominate Ram Nath Thakur for the Upper House. Thakur, son of former Bihar chief minister and socialist icon late Karpooori Thakur, is a member of the Rajya Sabha. However, his present term expires in April.
The BJP, a major ally of the NDA, has named its national president Nitin Nabin and former MLA Shivesh Kumar as its candidates for the Rajya Sabha elections. Former Union minister and Rashtriya Lok Morcha president Upendra Kushwaha will also contest the election as the fifth NDA candidate.
Elections are to be held in five seats from the state.
