Will Nitish Kumar get another term? Speculation rife as BJP gives mixed signals

With the Bihar Assembly elections just six months away, the issue of the chief ministerial candidate for the two major alliances—the NDA and the Grand Alliance—is being actively discussed. Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s party, Janata Dal (United), has reiterated several times that he will be the face of the NDA. However, mixed signals from ally BJP have added confusion to the matter.

 

Nitish’s son, Nishant Kumar, tried to clear the doubts by saying that Union Home Minister Amit Shah had already made it clear that the incumbent would continue as chief minister.

 

While NDA leaders, including those from the BJP, have stated that the elections will be fought under the joint leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, no categorical assurance has come from the central leadership. Prime Minister Modi is scheduled to visit Bihar on April 24 for a function where several development projects will be inaugurated. Both Modi and Nitish will share the stage, and all eyes will be on how the Prime Minister presents Nitish Kumar during the rally - particularly whether he names him as the NDA’s chief ministerial candidate. An endorsement from Modi would put an end to the ongoing speculation.

 

The confusion intensified when Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini remarked that the NDA would win the Bihar elections under BJP’s Samrat Choudhary, the current Deputy Chief Minister. Saini, the OBC face for the BJP in Haryana, triggered speculation with his statement.

 

Although BJP leaders have stated that the elections will be contested under Nitish Kumar’s leadership, the post-poll scenario in Maharashtra has raised fresh concerns. In Maharashtra, although the elections were fought under then-chief minister Eknath Shinde, the BJP as the largest party eventually claimed the chief ministership. A similar situation could arise in Bihar, where the BJP currently holds more seats than the JD(U), though it had supported Nitish Kumar as CM in the last government. Whether that arrangement will continue after the November elections remains uncertain, and the JD(U) is reportedly uneasy about the Maharashtra precedent being repeated.

 

Opposition parties, particularly the RJD and Prashant Kishor’s Jan Suraaj, have claimed that this will be Nitish Kumar’s final term. They argue that even the BJP is reluctant to project him as the CM candidate, citing concerns over his health.

 

Meanwhile, the RJD and Congress are also engaged in alliance talks. Their next meeting is scheduled to take place in Patna on Thursday. The RJD is expected to press the Congress to support its proposal to name Tejashwi Yadav as the CM face. Yadav had earlier met Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge in Delhi to discuss seat-sharing arrangements.

 

Both alliances will be holding talks in the coming days to decide on seat sharing, but the bigger issue to be tackled would be that of projecting the CM face.

 

India