Who will lead Bihar if the NDA returns to power? With Assembly elections round the corner, comments from top Union ministers have reignited the debate over Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s political future.
BJP leaders Amit Shah and Nitin Gadkari, along with Nitish Kumar’s confidant Rajiv Ranjan alias Lalan Singh, said in separate media interactions that the issue of chief ministership would be decided by the NDA legislature party after the elections.
During an interview with a private TV channel, Union Home Minister Amit Shah was asked whether Nitish Kumar would be made CM if the NDA wins in Bihar. He replied, “Who am I to decide who becomes Chief Minister? It’s a coalition of many parties. After the elections, when we sit together, the leaders of all the parties will decide their legislative party leader.”
Later, addressing an election rally in Chhapra, Shah reiterated that the NDA would contest the elections under the leadership of Nitish Kumar and break the record of 20 years of majority rule to form the government. However, he refrained from committing to Nitish Kumar as the next Chief Minister.
When the same question was posed to Union Minister Nitin Gadkari, he echoed Shah’s response. “The NDA government will definitely be formed. The decision will be taken by the elected MLAs, and by the NDA, JD(U), and BJP high command. I am not the only high command to make such decisions. In such matters, there is a parliamentary board involved.”
Lalan Singh responded in a similar vein, further adding to the suspense over Nitish Kumar becoming Chief Minister again.
“The Chief Minister will be decided by the legislative party. The NDA’s legislative party will decide. This has been the tradition. Last time too, when Nitish Kumar became Chief Minister, who made that decision? It was the NDA legislative party that chose Nitish Kumar as our leader,” he told the media.
However, JD(U) spokesperson Neeraj Kumar said there is no rift within the NDA regarding Nitish Kumar’s leadership, calling it propaganda by the Opposition.
“Amit Shah has clearly said that elections will be contested under the leadership of Nitish Kumar. He clarified the process for selection of Chief Minister. Nitish Kumar is the voice of the people and will once again become CM in 2025. There is no confusion within our alliance. It’s clear for Bihar — ‘25 se 30, phir se Nitish’ (2025 to 2030 — once again Nitish),” he said.
Later, in a damage control exercise, the BJP posted a statement along with a video clip of Shah on ‘X’ stating, “We are contesting the elections under the leadership of Nitish Kumar. He is leading our campaign… Not only does the BJP have faith in Nitish Kumar, but the people of Bihar also trust him. Those who are distorting Amit Shah’s statement and misleading the people of the country and Bihar for their own political gain — this video is a strong slap in their face.”
In the video, Amit Shah says, “Nitish Kumar is a major socialist leader of the country, a true follower of JP (Jayaprakash Narayan), and has always opposed the Congress. BJP certainly trusts him, and so do the people of Bihar.”
However, once again, he stopped short of explicitly naming Nitish Kumar as the next Chief Minister of Bihar.