Summary of this article
Nitish Kumar announces plan to contest the Rajya Sabha elections.
Bihar, for long dominated by JD(U) and RJD, now faces questions over its leadership.
Opposition leaders compare it with Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro’s capture.
Nearly four months after the Bihar election concluded—with the Janata Dal (United) and the Bharatiya Janata Party emerging victorious—the results also served as a sobering reality check for the opposition Mahagathbandhan and the Rashtriya Janata Dal.
The opposition alliance, which had projected confidence of victory in the run up to the campaign, managed to secure only 35 seats. Meanwhile, to much surprise, the BJP received the highest number of votes, despite the party never having formed a government in the state in the history of independent India.
Nitish Kumar was sworn in as Chief Minister for a tenth term after leading the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) to a landslide victory. However, in an unexpected move, the veteran politician announced on X that he intends to participate in the upcoming elections for the Rajya Sabha, signalling an end to his tenure as Chief Minister of Bihar.
“I want to assure you with complete honesty that my relationship with you will continue in the future as well, and my resolve to work together with you to build a developed Bihar will remain steadfast,” he said, adding that the new government that will be formed will have his full cooperation and guidance.
The state, for long dominated by Janata Dal (United) and Rashtriya Janata Dal, has once again taken centre stage, with opposition parties questioning the reasons behind the sudden change and scrutinising the BJP’s motives behind it.
Tejashwi Yadav, Leader of the Opposition in Bihar, on Thursday accused the BJP of “hijacking” Kumar. Taking a swipe at the Bihar CM, Yadav said: "Nitish ji ko ghoda toh chadaya hai dulha banake lekin phera kisi aur ke sath dila raha hai (Kumar has been made the groom riding the horse, but the wedding rituals are being carried out by someone else.)"
Speaking to reporters in Patna, Yadav reiterated his earlier claim that the BJP intends to remove Kumar from the Chief Minister’s post, saying recent developments appear to support his statement.
He also recalled that when Kumar left the Mahagathbandhan in 2024, he had warned that the BJP would eventually weaken the JD(U).
“The BJP has completely hijacked Nitish Kumar. He himself has spoken about wanting to go to the Rajya Sabha. From the beginning we said that after the elections the BJP would not allow him to remain Chief Minister, and today that statement is proving true. The people’s mandate is against this change of power. Even when he left our alliance in 2024, we had said that the BJP would finish the JDU,” Yadav said.
General Secretary in-charge Communications of the Indian National Congress Jairam Ramesh said that the actions is “a conspiracy hatched by G2,” calling it a “coup” aimed at seizing power in Bihar; calling it a betrayal of the people's mandate. “What the Indian National Congress was repeatedly saying during the Bihar election campaign has now been proven true.”
Kumar also faced accusations of betraying Bihar’s trust. On Wednesday, CPI(ML) Liberation General Secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya criticised Kumar for going against the mandate given by the people, following his announcement to move from the Chief Minister’s post to the Rajya Sabha as an MP. Bhattacharya also questioned the intentions of the Bharatiya Janata Party in this move.
"It's not about whatever gameplan the NDA may have been hatching or the transition that the BJP desires in Bihar. It's an outright betrayal of the mandate that the NDA sought and got in the name of Nitish Kumar," Bhattacharya said in a post on X.
"This is taking Bihar for granted and playing games with the people of the state," he said.
Manoj Kumar Jha, Member of Rajya Sabha, compared the situation involving Kumar to what he described as a move to “demote” Sena chief Eknath Shinde and make him Deputy Chief Minister after the NDA’s win in the 2024 Maharashtra polls.
“They knew Bihar is not Maharashtra and they cannot demote Nitish Kumar. So they tweaked the model. They made Nitish ji desi Maduro,” he said, drawing an analogy to Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro’s capture.
Jha also said, “What happened here is similar to what happened with Maduro in Venezuela, kidnapping with consent. His (Kumar) core voter feels cheated,” suggesting that the move to shift Kumar toward the Rajya Sabha reflects a strategy orchestrated by the BJP rather than Kumar’s own decision. “But this is too temporary. I read his post (on X). Don’t call it Nitish ji’s post. Each word has been chosen in Delhi,” he added, implying Kumar acted under pressure from the BJP. “A man who served as Chief Minister for 21 years now wants to come to Rajya Sabha. This is childish. At least, make a good argument,” Jha said.
The whole political episode has sparked numerous questions. Kumar, who has served as Bihar’s Chief Minister since 2015, stepping down from his position was an outcome few anticipated from the election. The leader, who had leveraged strong support from women voters and championed pension and financial assistance schemes for women, enjoyed the trust of the state’s populace.
With the BJP emerging as the single largest party and the Mahagathbandhan performing poorly, the question of who would become the next Chief Minister has sent ripples through Bihar's political circles.
