Nitish Kumar to take Rajya Sabha oath on April 10, then resign as chief minister

For Nitish Kumar, his new innings in the Rajya Sabha will also coincide with his fourth stint as the JD(U) national president.

Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar will resign after taking oath as Rajya Sabha member, which is scheduled for April 10, said a senior JD(U) leader.

As Nitish Kumar prepares to step down to make his debut in the Rajya Sabha, the only House he did not represent in his long career, it will give the BJP, the largest party in the state Assembly, the opportunity to have its CM in Bihar for the first time. (Santosh Kumar/HT) (HT_PRINT)

Amid growing speculations about his successor from the BJP, the JD(U) leader said that Kumar would resign within a couple of days after returning from Delhi and the process would commence thereafter for formation of the new government.

“He will take oath as member of the Rajya Sabha and after returning from there, he will tender his resignation from the post of CM. He has already resigned from the Bihar Legislative Council and got elected to the Rajya Sabha. So, it is just a matter of time for him to resign from CM’s post to set the stage for the next government formation,” he added.

The new government formation is likely to happen mid-April. “Once he resigns the process for the new government formation will get underway. He will go to Delhi on April 9 and is expected to return on April 11. Nitish Kumar is clear in his mind what he has to do and he is fully at ease,” he added, refusing to elaborate on the likely successor to Kumar.

For Nitish Kumar, his new innings in the Rajya Sabha will also coincide with his fourth stint as the JD(U) national president. He was elected unopposed last month. Later this month, the national executive of the party will also meet in Patna, in which Nitish Kumar will share the future course of the party. That will also be significant for his son Nishant Kumar, who is waiting for an active role in the party.

As Nitish Kumar prepares to step down to make his debut in the Rajya Sabha, the only House he did not represent in his long career, it will give the BJP, the largest party in the state Assembly, the opportunity to have its CM in Bihar for the first time.

“It will also be a test for the party, as filling the void left by Nitish Kumar will not be easy and it will be under constant scrutiny. Nitish Kumar did a lot for Bihar, but his long tenure also had a cushion of RJD’s misrule. The comparison with the RJD always made JD(U) look much taller. The BJP CM’s performance will be compared with Nitish Kumar from day one, and that will be a big boot to fill,” said social analyst Prof NK Choudhary.

Regarding Nitish Kumar’s successor, there is no clear name that has emerged so far, though there are wide-ranging speculations on different names.

“The name the BJP high command ticks will be the one donning the chair. When the time comes, the name will be disclosed and the NDA Legislature Party will endorse. Senior BJP leaders will also be present as the new CM will stake claim before the Governor for the formation of the government,” said a BJP leader, adding that there was no point speculating at this stage.

Bihar CM Nitish Kumar’s political journey spans over four decades, starting with his first election to the Bihar Legislative Assembly in 1985 from Harnaut. Barely four years later in 1989, he entered the Lok Sabha from erstwhile Barh constituency and was appointed minister of state in the VP Singh Government in 1990.

In 1994, he co-founded the Samata Party, which formed an alliance with the BJP two years later. Later, Samata Party merged into JD(U) in 2003 to fight against the misrule of the RJD and ultimately achieved the objective in 2005 as part of the NDA coalition.

Before that he served in Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s cabinet (Railways, Surface Transport, Agriculture) between 1998 and 2004. He was elected to the Lok Sabha six times before becoming the CM for the second time in 2005 and since then he has been holding the position, barring a brief period in 2014-15.

“An astute politician and an able administrator, Kumar made himself an indispensable cog in state politics by neutralising the impact of two big parties -- the BJP and the RJD -- and even switched sides at will until he ran out of steam due to indifferent health for the last couple of years. But he goes on a high, re-establishing the JD(U) as a major force in 2025 after the 2020 debacle and setting the stage for his son Nishant Kumar’s political entry after he exits the state politics. But from here on, it will be challenge as much for the BJP as for the JD(U), as Bihar’s political realities are complex and not everyone can master it like Nitish Kumar,” said former director of AN Sinha Institute of Social Studies DM Diwakar.