'Coup, betrayal of people's mandate': Opposition parties criticise Nitish's Rajya Sabha entry

RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav alleged that the BJP had 'hijacked' Nitish Kumar, and that was the reason for the veteran leader to move to the Rajya Sabha.

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar (File Photo | PTI)

RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav on Thursday called Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's decision to enter the Rajya Sabha a 'betrayal' of people's mandate.

Nitish Kumar on Thursday confirmed that he will be resigning from the post he has held for over 20 years, and move to the Rajya Sabha.

"The BJP has done a Maharashtra in Bihar," Yadav said.

He alleged that Nitish Kumar leaving the Chief Minister post confirmed the party's earlier claim that BJP will not let Nitish Kumar remain in the post after the elections. "This development is against the mandate of the people and amounts to a betrayal of it," he said.

Yadav, the leader of the opposition in the state assembly, also alleged that BJP has always been opposed to Dalits and OBCs, and with Kumar leaving the CM's post, it will seek to implement its agenda in the socialist stronghold.

He alleged that the BJP had 'hijacked' Nitish Kumar, and that was the reason for the veteran leader to move to the Rajya Sabha.

Speaking to ANI, Tejashwi Yadav accused the BJP of using "tricks" against Nitish Kumar, defying their election slogan '2025 se 30 phir se Nitish'.

"BJP is against OBCs and Dalits. They never want a leader from these communities to occupy the top post. They want a chief minister who will function like a rubber stamp for the top BJP leadership," he alleged.

"I had said -- 'Nitish ji ko ghoda toh chadhaya hai dulha banake, lekin phera kisi aur ke saath dila raha hai' (They made Nitish Kumar mount the horse like a groom, but are getting someone else to take the wedding vows)," he added.

The 75-year-old leader, who took oath as the chief minister of Bihar for a record 10th time in November last year, expressed gratitude to the people of the state for "consistently" placing their trust in him. He is the state's longest-serving chief minister.

Reacting to the development, Congress called it a "coup" and a "huge betrayal of the mandate of the people."

"What the Indian National Congress was repeatedly saying during the Bihar election campaign has now been proven true. Under a conspiracy hatched by G2, a coup has been carried out in Bihar to seize power. In many ways, this is a major betrayal of the people's mandate," Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said in a post on X.

The decision has taken Janata Dal (United) workers and supporters by surprise, reported ANI.

The JD (U) workers and supporters, protesting outside the Chief Minister's residence in Patna, refused to believe that Nitish Kumar has decided to give up the Chief Minister post.

"It is possible that his account has been hijacked," a JDU worker said, reacting to Nitish Kumar's confirmation on a post on X.

Congress' Maharashtra MLA Nana Patole accused BJP of "deceiving" their alliance partners and equated Nitish Kumar's situation with Maharashtra Deputy CM Eknath Shinde, who was not re-elected as CM after Mahayuti gained majority in Maharashtra Assembly Elections in 2024, with the BJP emerging as the largest party.

"Maharashtra is the biggest example of this. Elections were fought under the leadership of Eknath Shinde, and the government came to power, but Eknath Shinde did not become the Chief Minister. In Bihar, elections were fought under the leadership of Nitish Kumar; they (the BJP) won there as well... Now he is being removed from the post of Chief Minister. The BJP has always deceived its alliance partners," he said.

Nitish Kumar presented the nomination for Rajya Sabha in the presence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP national president Nitin Nabin. 

Shah hailed Nitish's move to Rajya Sabha. Welcoming his return to national politics, he called his tenure as Chief Minister a 'golden chapter' in Bihar's history.

"Bihar's CM also filed his nomination for the Rajya Sabha. With this, after a long gap, he will once again enter national politics as a Rajya Sabha MP. Nitish Kumar served as CM of Bihar from 2005 until now. His tenure was truly glorious. This tenure will be written as a golden chapter in Bihar's history, shaping the entire gamut of Bihar's development... Throughout his long career as an MLA, MP, Chief Minister, and Union Minister, his kurta was never stained. His entire life was free from corruption charges," he said.

"For 11 years under PM Modi's leadership, he made a significant contribution to Bihar's progress in every way, and it was under his leadership that all of PM Modi's initiatives reached the people of Bihar... He is once again returning to Delhi as a Rajya Sabha MP. I and all our NDA colleagues heartily welcome him, and his tenure as Chief Minister will always be remembered and respected by the people of Bihar," he added.

(With inputs from PTI, ANI)