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On a time Bihar celebrated Holi, Patna connected Wednesday (March 4, 2026) witnessed hectic governmental enactment implicit reports that Janata Dal(U) person Nitish Kumar would resign arsenic Chief Minister and spell to the Rajya Sabha.
Top BJP sources told The Hindu that Bihar would soon person a caller Chief Minister.
“At a gathering of their enactment with JD(U) leaders held aft the results of Assembly predetermination successful Bihar, a proposition was made that a succession program for the authorities beryllium made wrong a twelvemonth of the results. It was conveyed that a succession program for the authorities needed to beryllium successful spot factoring successful the aboriginal of the JD(U),” a root said.
If Mr. Kumar relinquishes his post, the adjacent Chief Minister would beryllium from the BJP. Party sources said “he/she volition beryllium from the Backward Class”.
JD(U) person Zama Khan said that Mr. Kumar’s lad Nishant Kumar would articulation the enactment connected Thursday (November 4, 2026). “Yes, Nishant Kumar is going to articulation the enactment connected Thursday astatine 11 a.m. and it volition fortify some our enactment and its organisation,” the State’s Minister of Minority Welfare told presspersons.
Sources said that Union Home Minister Amit Shah volition sojourn Patna connected Thursday (March 5, 2026) to beryllium contiguous connected the juncture of a imaginable “regime change” successful the State connected a time erstwhile NDA’s Rajya Sabha candidates, including BJP president Nitin Nabin, volition record their nominations.
Earlier, coming retired of a gathering astatine the Chief Minister’s authoritative residence, JD(U) MLC and long-time adjacent adjutant to Mr. Kumar, Sanjay Gandhi, said, “We’ll enactment immoderate determination Nitish Kumar volition take. We’ll enactment him adjacent if helium goes to the Rajya Sabha.”
Party sources said Mr. Kumar could record his information papers for the Rajya Sabha connected Thursday morning.
“If Mr. Kumar relinquishes his post, it volition beryllium a authorities alteration successful the State aft 20 years. He had go Chief Minister for lone 7 days successful March 2000 but since November 2005 helium has been the Chief Minister for 10 terms, barring 9 months from February 2015 to November 2015 erstwhile Jitan Ram Manjhi was successful the saddle,” said governmental commentator Nawal Kishore Choudhary.
BJP sources said that the main ministerial campaigner from their enactment would either beryllium from the Backward Class (27% of the population) oregon Extremely Backward Class (36%).
“The enactment cannot spend to person its CM from precocious caste class which is 15.5% successful fig according to the latest caste survey successful Bihar,” said Mr. Choudhary.
Top JD(U) leaders, including party’s moving president Sanjay Kumar Jha, Vijay Choudhary and Union Minister and party’s Munger MP Rajeev Ranjan Singh (Lalan Singh), held meetings astatine their authoritative residences and astatine the Chief Minister’s residence.
In the past Assembly elections, the ruling NDA won 202 seats with the JD(U) getting 85 and the BJP bagging 89 seats. The Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) won 19 seats and smaller parties specified arsenic Rashtriya Lok Morcha, led by Upendra Kushwaha, bagged 4 and Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) won 5 seats. In the 243-member State Assembly, a campaigner needs the enactment of 41 MLAs to unafraid a Rajya Sabha seat.
Of the full 16 Rajya Sabha seats from Bihar, 5 seats are falling vacant connected April 9. The presumption of 2 JD(U) MPs Harivansh Narayan Singh, besides Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha, and Ram Nath Thakur, Union Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare, are ending. NDA state and Rashtriya Lok Morcha main Mr. Kushwaha’s tenure is ending on with those of 2 members from the Opposition bloc – Rashtriya Janata Dal’s (RJD) Prem Chand Gupta and Amarendra Dhari Singh.
The NDA needs the enactment of 3 much MLAs and the RJD that of six legislators to container the 5th spot for which Mr. Kushwaha’s sanction is said to person been finalised by the NDA. Sources from the RJD campy said the enactment volition tract Amarendra Dhari Singh arsenic the 5th candidate.
(With inputs from Nistula Hebbar)
