Is Nitish Kumar heading to Rajya Sabha? Speculation rife over what next in Bihar

Bihar, which saw the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) securing a mammoth victory in the state elections last November, could witness a major political development soon. If media reports are to be believed, the state’s record-making chief minister, Nitish Kumar, could see a departure from the position he has held for two decades now by getting nominated to the Rajya Sabha.

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According to reports that cited sources, nomination papers for the Janata Dal (United) veteran, who turned 75 on March 1, have already been made with just the signature of the leader himself pending. Nitish is expected to file the nomination on Thursday (March 5), when all the NDA candidates eyeing a seat in the Upper House from the state will file their respective papers, Sanjay Saraogi, the chief of the Bharatiya Janata Party unit in Bihar, said on Tuesday (March 3). Thursday is the last date of filing the nomination.

The elections, scheduled for March 16, will be held across several states.

Speculation rife over future of Nitish, Bihar

Speculations are rife after the reports came out with the question of who would succeed Nitish, who has remained the face of Bihar’s governance since 2005, started doing the rounds vigorously. Could this also be the moment when Nishant Kumar, Nitish’s son, makes a formal entry into politics?

Hectic parleys have already been seen in the JD(U) camp. On Wednesday (March 4), the party’s national working president Sanjay Jha reached Patna from New Delhi and held a long meeting with Nitish behind closed doors. Union Minister Lalan Singh, also a member of the JD(U), was also expected to reach the state capital on Thursday, indicating that talks were intensifying.

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Sources in the JD(U) said a meeting comprising the chief minister and senior leaders of the party, including Jha, Brijendra Yadav, Shrawon Kumar, Ashok Chaudhary, and Vijay Kumar Chaudhary, was being held on Wednesday evening, where a decision on the party’s Rajya Sabha nominees would materialise.

Will Nitish go? Will Nishant come?

It was also speculated that a few proposals were under consideration.

First, sending Nishant instead of Nitish to the Rajya Sabha, and let the chief minister continue in his record 10th term for a while. Secondly, to send Nitish to the Upper Chamber and have a chief minister from the BJP installed at 10 Anne Marg, and induct Nishant in the state cabinet as the deputy chief minister after making him his father’s replacement in the Legislative Council.

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The prospect of making Nishant the chief minister directly and continuing with two BJP deputy chief ministers as of now has also not been ruled out.

The Nitish loyalists in the JD(U) are reportedly not in favour of moving him to the Rajya Sabha and want Nishant instead to become its member. On the other hand, the section of the party considered closer to the BJP wants the veteran to be in the Rajya Sabha.

India Today reported about another indication of the emerging political situation the state, citing sources that the next phase of Nitish's ‘Samriddhi Yatra’ (Prosperity March), which was scheduled to kick off on March 8, may be deferred now.