Nitish Kumar resigned from the Bihar Legislative Council on Monday but will continue as chief minister until his expected move to the Rajya Sabha next month, amid indications that he wants the BJP to appoint a successor of his choice.
Nitish stepped down on the last day of the 14-day deadline to relinquish his Council membership following his election to Parliament’s Upper House on March 16.
He did not personally submit his resignation to Council Chairperson Awadhesh Narayan Singh, instead sending it through party MLC Sanjay Gandhi.
BJP national president Nitin Nabin, too, resigned as Bihar MLA, having been elected to the Rajya Sabha.
Nitish has to resign as chief minister before he can move to the Rajya Sabha, but there’s no clarity on when he might step down.
“Indeed, he will resign,” senior JDU leader and minister Vijay Chaudhary said to reporters’ questions, emphasising that Nitish had “always abided by constitutional norms and will follow them when the time comes”.
JDU insiders said Nitish was keen to finalise the contours of the next Bihar government with the BJP leadership before stepping down.
“He wants the next chief minister to be of his choice so that the NDA’s social coalition remains intact. There are other issues as well, including the distribution of portfolios,” a senior JDU leader said.
Deputy chief minister Samrat Chaudhary, a prominent OBC leader from the BJP, is widely seen as the frontrunner to succeed Nitish and is believed to have the outgoing chief minister’s backing.
At rallies during his recent statewide Samriddhi Yatra, Nitish had dropped clear hints about Chaudhary taking up the reins after him.
“Aage sab yahi dekhenge (In future, he will handle everything),” he had told several rallies.
Some in the JDU have argued that if Bihar gets a BJP chief minister, their party should be given the Assembly Speaker’s post.
Current Speaker Prem Kumar, a former minister, was elected on a BJP ticket. During Nitish’s two decades as chief minister, the BJP has held the Speaker’s post.
However, BJP sources in Delhi indicated that while the party leadership may have no objection to elevating Chaudhary as chief minister, it is unlikely to concede the demand for a change in Speaker.
“We don’t want the process of electing a new Speaker to be taken up again. Prem Kumarji is a senior leader and belongs to the Extremely Backward Classes, so the JDU should have no objection,” a BJP parliamentarian from Bihar said.
The MP, however, stressed that the BJP leadership wanted everything resolved amicably, realising that annoying Nitish could prove counterproductive.
The BJP has traditionally drawn its support from the upper castes in Bihar, while the JDU has championed the non-Yadav backward classes and segments of Dalits.
However, the BJP is increasingly seeking to expand its social base by making inroads into the JDU vote bank among backward communities.
In this context, Chaudhary, who is from the OBC Koiri caste, is seen as a suitable choice.
“The indications from our leadership are that Chaudhary is set to be the next chief minister. However, a surprise choice can’t be ruled out, either,” a BJP leader said.