PATNA: Chief Minister of Bihar and president of Janata Dal (United), Nitish Kumar, on Thursday filed his nomination papers for the Rajya Sabha, marking the end of an era in the state’s political landscape.
Most probably, Bharatiya Janata Party will have its own chief minister, fulfilling its long-cherished dream of having its own leader at the helm. The move would also formally make the BJP the dominant partner in the National Democratic Alliance. Deputy Chief Minister and state Revenue and Land Reforms Minister Vijay Kumar Sinha had once said at an event at the BJP state headquarters that it would be a historic day when the saffron party would have its own CM in Bihar.
JD(U) now faces the challenge of finding a replacement for Nitish Kumar, who has had complete command over the party due to his political acumen and charismatic personality. It is because of his leadership that he remained at the helm of state affairs since 2005, except for a brief period when Jitan Ram Manjhi was made CM after the 2014 Lok Sabha elections.
A political analyst said it would be difficult for JD(U) to fill the void created by Nitish’s departure from state politics. Another major challenge will be to keep the party’s vote bank intact, as the BJP may try to make deeper inroads into the EBC and caste-neutral vote bank more aggressively if Nitish does not take extra care to check erosion of the support base he built over the years.
If JD(U) really loses its electoral capital in the new political scenario, there is a possibility that Bihar politics could become somewhat bipolar, a direct contest between the BJP and the Rashtriya Janata Dal. The RJD is currently led by Tejashwi Prasad Yadav, who was recently made the party’s national working president.
The BJP is likely to replace Nitish with a Kurmi, Kushwaha or an EBC leader. Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary, a Kushwaha, has emerged as a frontrunner for the CM’s post, although the BJP, as in the past, could also spring a surprise. Like Nitish, Samrat Choudhary is an OBC leader.
In the last 20 years, the constant factor in the relationship between the BJP and JD(U) has been Nitish Kumar holding the post of chief minister, irrespective of whether his party’s seat tally was the highest in the elections.
In the 2015 assembly election, when Nitish contested in alliance with the RJD, the party led by Lalu Prasad Yadav won 80 seats compared to JD(U)’s 71 and the BJP’s 53. Despite this, the JD(U) leader was made chief minister as per the poll promise. In 2020, when Nitish returned to the NDA, the BJP won 74 seats and JD(U) 43, yet he was again made CM.
Although JD(U) significantly narrowed the gap by winning 85 seats against the BJP’s 89 in the 2025 assembly polls, Nitish once again occupied the top post.
Since 2006, Nitish initiated several steps to broaden his support base among EBCs. In 2006, the state cabinet approved 20 per cent reservation for EBCs in district boards, panchayat samitis and gram panchayats.
Four years later, he announced a new entrepreneurship scheme under which eligible members received state assistance of Rs 10 lakh to set up small businesses. His initiative to provide Rs 10,000 to each woman entrepreneur also worked as a catalyst, helping the NDA return to power with a two-thirds majority.
Though JD(U) has consistently relied on alliance partners to remain in power, this unusual political equation has made Nitish Kumar a master negotiator.
However, his sudden decision to move to the Rajya Sabha after relinquishing the chief minister’s post has left both leaders and workers stunned.
Reacting to the development, Tejashwi Prasad Yadav said, “BJP has done a Maharashtra in Bihar. It was expected much before the previous assembly elections.”