PATNA: Bihar Chief Minister and JD(U) supremo Nitish Kumar on Thursday offered to step down from the CM’s post and move to the Rajya Sabha, triggering a high-stakes search for his successor, with BJP leaders like Deputy CM Samrat Choudhary, Nityanand Rai and Dilip Jaiswal, and even a possible young woman leader under consideration.
Sources said the BJP, in alliance with JD(U), will choose its own leader for the top post for the first time in Bihar. It will be a historic shift as BJP has never before placed its own leader as CM despite being the largest party in the assembly.
Among the frontrunners, Deputy CM Samrat Choudhary, who, like Nitish, belongs to the OBC category, is emerging as a leading contender. Other names include Union MoS for Home Nityanand Rai and state industries minister Dilip Jaiswal, while JD(U)’s Nishant Kumar, Nitish’s son, and water resources minister Vijay Kumar Chaudhary are also being considered.
A top BJP source added that a young woman leader with a clean image and wide community acceptability could also be considered to signal the party’s focus on women’s empowerment, noting that women’s support was key to NDA’s two-thirds majority in the last assembly elections.
From the JD(U) side, Nitish’s son Nishant Kumar and State Water Resources Minister Vijay Kumar Chaudhary are also being discussed.
BJP sources indicated that while the CM post will go to the party, JD(U) will be offered two deputy chief minister positions, mirroring the setup when Nitish was CM with two BJP deputies. A senior NDA leader said, “When BJP will have its CM, the post of two deputy CMs will go to its ally JD(U). This arrangement is already in place in the state today.”
The move follows an internal recalibration within JD(U) and BJP. Initially, Nishant Kumar was being considered for the Rajya Sabha seat, but when he expressed a wish to start his political career from Bihar, Nitish was asked to move to Rajya Sabha and leave a successor.
BJP fields Nabin, Shivesh Kumar for RS polls
On Thursday, BJP fielded National President Nitin Nabin and Bihar unit General Secretary Shivesh Kumar for Rajya Sabha polls, while NDA ally Upendra Kushwaha and JD(U) leader Union Minister Ramnath Thakur also filed nominations. Amit Shah was present during the filing and praised Nitish for his contribution to Bihar’s development.
