Who'll replace Nitish Kumar as Bihar CM
What's the story
Bihar Chief Minister and Janata Dal (United) leader Nitish Kumar filed his nomination for the Rajya Sabha polls on Thursday, nearly four months after he was sworn in for a record 10th time as CM. Ahead of the nomination, he said he had always wanted to become a member of both Houses of the state legislature and Houses of Parliament since the beginning of his parliamentary career, which was why he was contesting in the Rajya Sabha polls.
Leadership transition
BJP likely to announce CM post soon
With him resigning as CM, the question now is who will take his place. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) won a landslide victory in the 2025 Bihar Assembly Elections. The BJP emerged as the single largest party with 89 seats, while Kumar's Janata Dal (United) secured 85 seats. The Indian Express, citing NDA sources, said the BJP could lead the new government in Bihar, while the JD(U) is expected to get two deputy chief minister posts.
Succession plans
JD(U) may propose these names for deputy CM posts
Potential candidates for the CM include deputy CMs Samrat Choudhary and Vijay Kumar Sinha, Dilip Jaiswal, and Sanjiv Chaurasia. On the other hand, the JD(U) may propose Vijay Kumar Choudhary and Nishant Kumar as deputy CMs. Nityanand Rai is also reportedly eyeing the chief minister's position. Amid speculations that the top post could go to the BJP, Union Home Minister and BJP leader Amit Shah attended the nominations of outgoing CM, Nitin Nabin, Ramnath Thakur, Upendra Kushwaha, and Sudesh Ram.
Political debut
Nishant set to enter politics
Some reports also suggest that a deputy CM post could go to Nishant Kumar, the son of Nitish, an engineering graduate who is rumored to enter politics. Shrawon Kumar, a close aide of JD(U) supremo Kumar since the Samata Party days in the 1990s, confirmed that decks have been cleared for Nishant's political entry. When asked if the JD(U) supremo's son could be one of the two party candidates for the Rajya Sabha elections, Shrawon replied, "Anything is possible."