Bihar’s political circles are abuzz once again with speculations doing rounds about Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s next move. The buzz gained momentum after Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s statement in which when asked about contesting the next Bihar assembly elections under Nitish Kumar’s face, Shah said that such decisions are taken in alliance meetings and media will be informed when a final decision will be taken. Amit Shah’s statement gave rise to speculations that the BJP has yet not put a final stamp on Nitish Kumar’s name.
A day after Amit Shah’s statement, Bihar BJP president and minister in Nitish government, Dilip Jaiswal, openly supported contesting elections under Nitish’s leadership. However, within days, he changed his stance, referring to himself as a ‘junior leader’, adding that such decisions are taken by party high-command. Leaders such as Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Chaudhary, Vijay Kumar Sinha, and others consistently advocated for contesting elections without Nitish at the helm.
Nitish Kumar’s recent political manoeuvres further fueled the speculations. After Amit Shah’s remark, Nitish called sick and did not attend some key government schemes. While BJP leaders kept making statements about contesting the elections under Kumar, the JDU chief maintained a silence as RJD extended feelers to him once again. RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav has even claimed that four close aides of Nitish have taken him, hostage, as the CM himself is unable to run the government. Tejashwi said that these four leaders are making decisions on Nitish Kumar’s behalf.
However, after being assured that his CM post is not at stake, Nitish Kumar has now reacted to the speculations of leaving the NDA once again. Speaking in Bihar’s Sitamarhi on Thursday, Kumar said that he already made a mistake twice and now he won’t go anywhere and work for the country’s development in alliance with the BJP. Now, Kumar is visiting Delhi on December 29 and Amit Shah will visit Bihar in January. These developments appear a bid by the NDA leaders to remove the misconception that Shah’s remark may have caused.
Bihar is set to hold assembly elections at the end of next year. In 2020, the NDA secured victory, and a government was formed under Nitish Kumar’s leadership. However, by August 2022, Nitish shifted allegiance to the Mahagathbandhan (Grand Alliance) and formed a government with the RJD. During this period, he united opposition parties and laid the foundation for the INDIA alliance. In January 2024, Nitish returned to the NDA fold. Since then, he has repeatedly stated on public platforms that he has no intention of switching sides again.
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