BJP likely to elect its first CM in Bihar on Tuesday

BJP leaders in Bihar on Monday said that the name of the party's "first chief minister" in the state will be known on Tuesday, with Union minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan like to arrive here to facilitate the power transition.

Chouhan, whom the BJP headquarters in Delhi had on Sunday named the 'central observer' for the election of the new legislature party leader, will be visiting the state on a day when JD(U) president Nitish Kumar, the longest-serving CM of Bihar, is expected to put in his papers.

Kumar, who turned 75 last month and was sworn in as a Rajya Sabha MP a week ago, is expected to visit Raj Bhavan to tender his resignation immediately after his last cabinet meeting scheduled at 11 am, where he is likely to make a formal announcement of relinquishment of the post.

"Shivraj Singh Chouhan ji will be coming to Patna tomorrow and BJP legislators will be electing their leader in his presence," the party's Bihar unit president Sanjay Saraogi told reporters here.

Interestingly, although the change of guard will help the BJP have its chief minister in the only Hindi heartland state where the seat of power has so far eluded the party, leaders have been restrained and circumspect in their responses.

Dilip Jaiswal, a minister who was the state president till his induction in the cabinet in November last year, said, "It is an emotional moment for us. We hope that Nitish Kumar will continue to offer his guidance to the new government."

In the 243-strong Bihar assembly, the NDA enjoys a brute majority with altogether 202 seats, of which the BJP has the lion's share of 89, followed closely by the JD(U)'s 85, while smaller partners LJP(RV), HAM and RLM make up for the rest.

Jaiswal, however, flinched when journalists asked him to name the favourites for the top job, saying, "It is the collective prerogative of the legislature party. I should not hazard any guess. Let Shivraj Singh Chouhan come tomorrow. All will be clear." Neither Saraogi nor Jaiswal spoke about the swearing in ceremony, although speculations are rife that it will take place on April 14, with rumours afloat that even Prime Minister Narendra Modi could take time off his busy schedule for the purpose.

Speculations are rife it that Samrat Choudhary, a deputy chief minister who holds the crucial Home portfolio, and whom Union Home Minister Amit Shah had famously promised to make "a big man", was the front-runner.

Choudhary's detractors, however, point to the fact that he is not a dyed-in-the-wool Sangh Parivar man, having spent nearly two decades in parties like the RJD, the BJP's principal adversary in Bihar, and the JD(U).

They also insist that Choudhary was "already the legislature party leader, having been named so in November" and that a fresh election could signify that the party was exploring "other options".

Another name that has been doing the rounds is that of Nityanand Rai, the Union Minister of State for Home, who had started off as an ABVP activist in the thick of the Ram Janmabhoomi movement in the 1980s, and headed the Bihar BJP until being inducted in the Union cabinet in 2019.

BJP sources are of the view that the new chief minister "will most likely be an OBC or a Dalit", since the party was confident of retaining its upper caste support base, but needed to reach out to others for expanding its base in Bihar where politics has been shaped, to a great degree, by the 1990s Mandal agitation.

Meanwhile, all eyes are on what is in store for Nishant, the only son of Nishant Kumar who joined the JD(U) only last month.

A section of JD(U) leaders has been claiming that the 44 years old, who is yet to become a member of the state legislature, could be inducted into the new cabinet as a 'deputy CM', though others are of the view that his father, who had agreed to his political entry "only under pressure from party workers", would like the son to earn his spurs before enjoying a shot at power.

The father-son duo, meanwhile, seem sportingly ready to embrace the loss of power, with their belongings getting transferred to a government bungalow not far away from 1, Anney Marg, the chief minister's official residence, which shall now welcome a new occupant.