Highly placed sources within the JD(U) told The Statesman that Samrat Chaudhary was the top choice for the position of the chief minister to succeed Nitish Kumar.
In politics, more often than not, what appears is not what is. Bihar political developments seem to be headed that way. While Nitish Kumar re-entered national politics after over two decades—he left for Bihar in 2001—having taken oath as Rajya Sabha member Friday, Rajya Sabha deputy chairperson Harivansh Narayan Singh too was nominated as member of the Upper House by President Droupadi Murmu.
Singh, former MP on JD(U) candidacy, had been dropped by the party for a Rajya Sabha seat earlier.
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Kumar had resigned on March 30 this year to make way for his joining the Rajya Sabha. April 15 has been set aside as the day a BJP chief minister is going to succeed Kumar.
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Now figure this: the crucial meeting of BJP short core group from Bihar ahead of April 15 slated for today was abruptly cancelled. Meanwhile, currently BJP’s deputy chief minister Samrat Chaudhary is the front-runner for the chief ministerial berth.
Chaudhary had also accompanied Kumar today to his oath ceremony. Reports said he was busy with election and campaign duty in West Bengal, but he made time to accompany Kumar for this historical moment.
SNUB OR COINCIDENCE?
“What seems fishy is the fact that Harivansh Singh was nominated the same day as Nitish Kumar took oath as Rajya Sabha member. It is a well-known fact that the two do not see eye to eye given the background. This was the reason JD(U) dropped Harivansh Singh from its Rajya Sabha candidates. Of the two secure seats, Kumar took one for himself and the other was given to Ram Nath Thakur, a key representative of Extremely Backward Class (EBC) vote bank, vital for JD(U),” said a political observer from Patna, who has been close to the JD(U) ecosystem.
“What is the message the BJP high command is trying to give to the JD(U)?” he added.
The rift between the two leaders dates back to 2022. In August 2022, Nitish Kumar left NDA to join the Mahagathbandhan. Harivansh Singh was asked to resign from his position, which he did not. This was perceived within JD(U) as Singh being closer to the BJP.
RED FLAG FOR SAMRAT CHAUDHARY?
Highly placed sources within the JD(U) told The Statesman that Samrat Chaudhary was the top choice for the position of the chief minister to succeed Nitish Kumar.
“There is consensus between JD(U) and BJP on Samrat’s name. Samrat Chaudhary has Nitish ji’s blessings The first 10 names on Nitish ji’s list for the top job are Samrat, Samrat, Samrat…” a top JD(U) leader told The Statesman on anonymity.
It was, therefore, only obvious that Samrat Chaudhary accompanied Nitish Kumar to his searing-in ceremony today.
“But, that’s the catch. If nominating Harivansh the same day as Nitish Kumar took oath as Rajya Sabha member is any sort of signaling by the BJP, then one can only surmise that things may not be as easy for Samrat Chaudhary too. While the cancellation of the meeting of Bihar BJP’s core committee has been explained away by non-availability of Home Minister Amit Shah owing to his engagement with West Bengal elections, in politics there are no coincidences, at least, generally,” another Bihar watcher told The Statesman.
Meanwhile, Nitish Kumar’s swearing-in ceremony was a star-studded affair, small though powerful in symbolism. The oath was administered by Rajya Sabha Chairman C.P. Radhakrishnan.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Friday (April 10, 2026) took oath as a member of Rajya Sabha, marking an end to his two-decade stint in office and paving the way for a new Chief Minister.
There is no clarity yet on when he would resign as Chief Minister. Speculation is rife that Mr. Kumar could resign in a day or two and a new Bihar Chief Minister may take oath next week. The former Janata Dal (United) chief resigned as a member of the State Legislative Council on March 30 after he was elected to Rajya Sabha.
The oath was administered by Rajya Sabha Chairman C.P. Radhakrishnan in his chamber. Kumar took the oath in Hindu. Those present were JP Nadda, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Bihar Dy CMs Vijay Singh and Samrat Chaudhary, Bihar ministers Vijay Chaudhary and Rajiv Ranjan Singh, Ram Nath Thakur, Union minister Arjun Meghwal, as also Congress chief whip in Rajya Sabha Jairam Ramesh.
JDU’s working president Sanjay Kumar Jha and national general secretary Harshvardhan Singh were also part of the oath taking ceremony.
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