Union home minister Amit Shah on Wednesday sought to shut down speculation over the NDA’s prospective chief minister for Bihar, saying there was “no vacancy” with Nitish Kumar already in the chair.
He, however, stopped short of explicitly declaring Nitish as the ruling alliance’s nominee for the top job, with party insiders suggesting the home minister’s remark should be understood principally as an attempt at damage control before the polls.
An earlier comment by Shah — about the newly elected NDA lawmakers choosing the next chief minister — had appeared to cast doubt on Nitish’s continuation as chief minister if the alliance returned to power.
While Opposition leader Tejashwi Yadav cited the remark to claim the BJP had “decided to remove Chacha (Uncle) Nitish”, the BJP’s poll managers grew nervous about a possible backlash from the chief minister’s loyal Extremely Backward Class vote bank.
Campaigning in Darbhanga, Shah appeared keen to change that impression.
Aiming a jibe at RJD chief Lalu Prasad and Congress leader Sonia Gandhi, Shah said: “Laluji wants to make his son Tejashwi the chief minister and Soniaji wants to make her son Rahul Baba the Prime Minister. But I want to tell them that neither the chief minister’s post in Bihar nor the Prime Minister’s chair in Delhi is vacant. Nitish Kumar is here, and Modiji is there.”
Earlier this month, Shah had said in an interview: “Who am I to make someone chief minister? The NDA is contesting the elections under Nitish Kumarji’s leadership.
“After the polls, all alliance leaders and the newly elected NDA MLAs will decide the next chief minister.”
This was interpreted as a signal of the BJP’s ambition to shed its junior partner status and possibly replicate its Maharashtra playbook, where the NDA contested under incumbent chief minister Eknath Shinde’s leadership before handing the top job to Devendra Fadnavis.
A BJP leader in Patna said: “Sending a signal that Nitish would not return as chief minister could alienate a large segment of extremely backward communities.”
Sensing the potential fallout, several senior BJP leaders rushed to reaffirm Nitish’s position.
“Nitish Kumar is the CM and will continue to be CM. There are no two ways about it,” deputy chief minister Samrat Chaudhary said.
Former Union minister and Patna Sahib MP Ravi Shankar Prasad echoed the reassurance on Tuesday, declaring: “Nitish Kumar was, is, and will remain the chief minister. Tejashwi should first set his own house in order.”
At the Darbhanga rally, however, Shah reserved his praise largely for Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Apart from the “no vacancy” line, he made few references to Nitish, suggesting his remark was more of a tactical course correction than a wholehearted endorsement.
“Voting is scheduled for November 6. Will you press the lotus button and strengthen Modiji’s hands?” Shah asked the crowd.
The BJP had allowed Nitish to retain the chief minister’s post in 2020 despite the JDU winning just 43 seats against the BJP’s 74.
BJP insiders have indicated that the leadership is unlikely to repeat that arrangement if their party emerges as the dominant force within the NDA after the November 14 results.
For now, the party seems determined to keep such plans under wraps until after the polls.
