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While Prime Minister Narendra Modi called Bihar Chief Minister and JD(U) supremo Nitish Kumar “laadle mukhyamantri (dear chief minister)” at their joint rally in Bihar’s Bhagalpur on February 24, several JD(U) leaders were not enthused by it. They had expected PM Modi to declare Nitish as the NDA’s chief ministerial candidate in the state Assembly elections slated for October-November this year, even as state BJP leaders have been issuing contradictory statements on the issue.
While no JD(U) leader has criticised the PM in this regard, Nitish’s son Nishant Kumar — who is yet to join politics — demanded a day after the Bhagalpur rally that the NDA announce his father as the CM candidate for the upcoming polls.
On PM Modi referring to Nitish as “laadle”, Nishant said, “As the BJP is part of the (ruling) coalition, it was natural for the PM to use such an expression for my father.”
The induction of seven new ministers, all from the BJP, into the Nitish Cabinet after the posts had been vacant for over a year appears to have further put the JD(U) on a weaker wicket. Though the Cabinet expansion is as per the agreed formula — the BJP was allocated 21 berths, the JD(U) 13, and one each for the Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) and an Independent — it is for the first time since 2005 that Nitish has agreed to expand his Cabinet to full capacity. Moreover, one of the BJP ministers belongs to the Kurmi caste, which is also Nitish’s community, and another is from the Kushwaha community, another OBC group that the JD(U) is trying to woo.
The Opposition Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) has seized on these developments to attack the JD(U). RJD national vice-president and former MP Shivanand Tiwari fired the salvo, saying that “Nitish Kumar did not get the message given by his son Nishant, who very smartly asked the NDA to declare Nitish as the CM nominee.”
On the opening day of the Assembly’s Budget Session last Friday, Tejashwi Yadav, the RJD’s Leader of the Opposition, said: “Nitish would not return to the House as the CM after the 2025 Assembly polls.”
The leaders across the NDA constituents have taken conflicting positions on their CM face for the upcoming polls. BJP minister Prem Kumar first reacted to Tejashwi’s jibe, saying, “Such things would be decided after polls results.”
On Friday, state BJP president Dilip Jaiswal said, “The elections will be fought under NDA leader Nitish Kumar but the CM will be decided after the polls by the (BJP’s) Parliamentary Board.”
However, Union Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi, the HAM(S) chief, said he would back Nitish as the CM candidate. On Friday, at a convention for Dalits in Patna attended by the CM, Manjhi said, “The NDA will win 225-plus seats in the House of 243 under Nitish Kumar’s leadership.” Manjhi also welcomed the prospect of Nishant entering politics.
Other BJP allies, including the Chirag Paswan-led Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) and the Upendra Kushwaha-led Rashtriya Lok Morcha (RLM), also backed Nitish as the NDA’s CM face.
Meanwhile, barely a few hours after making his statement, Dilip Jaiswal issued a clarification, claiming, “It is the media that misconstrued the statement. When I said elections would be fought under NDA leader Nitish Kumar, it is obvious that he is our CM face. In fact, we have come out with a slogan of Mission 2025: Phir Se Nitish (Nitish once again).”
Deputy CM and BJP leader Samrat Choudhary said, “The Opposition has been trying to create confusion. There is absolute clarity of Nitish being our CM face.”
A senior JD(U) leader, however, said: “The BJP’s state leadership should be reined in by its central leaders. We had expected the PM to announce Nitish Kumar as the CM face in Bhagalpur to put a stop to the divergent statements on the matter from time to time. Though we are happy with state BJP leaders finally clarifying their stand, it would be appropriate if PM Modi or BJP national president J P Nadda officially announces Nitish as the CM nominee.”
Ahead of the polls, the key players have also begun their political posturings. While the JD(U) has reportedly prepared a list of 122 seats out of the total 243 for its candidates, BJP sources have said the two parties could eventually contest 100 seats each.
The RJD, on its part, has been exploring the chances of wooing Nitish back into its Mahagathbandhan (grand alliance) fold. The possible entry of Nishant into politics has further caused concern in the BJP, which now senses that the JD(U) is planning its “long-term roadmap” by looking for a successor to Nitish.
The RJD has welcomed the idea of Nishant joining politics to ensure “socialist rule is further extended” in Bihar. “The clamour for Nitish as CM again is just an alibi. Their motto is to prepare the ground for a takeover by Nishant in 2026,” an RJD leader claimed.
