ROBIN ROY
Now that Nitish Ku mar has quit Bi har’s top post, JD (U) faces a challenge to find a replacement for Ni tish, who has a complete command over the party due to his political acu men and also charismatic personality. It won’t be easy for JD (U) to fill the void creat ed by Nitish’s departure. Another massive chal lenge will be to keep the JD (U) vote bank intact as BJP would try to make inroads into the EBC and caste-neutral women vote banks more aggressively if Nitish does not take extra care to check erosion of his support base, which He created it so meticulously. If JD (U) really loses its electoral capital in the new political scenario, there is a possibility that Bihar politics will become somewhat bipolar – a di rect contest between BJP versus the RJD. It is to be seen if BJP will replace Nitish with a Kurmi, Kushwaha or an EBC chief minister, as deputy chief minister Samrat Choudhary, a Kus hwaha, has emerged as a frontrunner for the CM’s post, although BJP like in the past can also throw a surprise. Will NDA edge out JD(U)? In the last 20 years, the constant factor in the re lationship between BJP and JD (U) has been Nitish holding the office of chief minister irrespective of whether his party’s seat tally was the biggest in the polls. In 2015 assembly elec tion, when Nitish contest ed the polls in alliance with the RJD, Lalu Pras ad’s party had bagged 80 seats against JD(U)’s 71, and BJP’s 53 seats despite it JD (U) leader was made the CM as per poll prom ise. In 2020, when Kumar was back to NDA, BJP won 74 seats, and JD (U) 43, despite it he was made CM. Although Nitish’s par ty significantly narrowed down the difference by winning 85 seats against BJP’s 89 seats, Nitish once again occupied the top post. With Nitish holding a supremacy in Bihar NDA, BJP was finding difficult to implement its Hindut va agenda as successfully it did in Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh or Uttar Pradesh, but if the BJP starts play ing its role more aggres sively with installation of its own leader as CM, there is a possibility of Hindutva politics being played out more aggres sively in Bihar. When the people of Bi har voted for Nitish Ku mar, he was the face of the alliance and within five months, JDU’s strongman had quit the state’s top most post. Though as per grape vine, there were murmurs in the corridors of power hat the NDA may not be continuing with Nitish so long after the polls, the strongman’s sudden and quick move surprised one and all. Nitish Kumar took oath as the chief minister of Bi har for a record 10th time on November 20, 2025. However, a mere three and-a-half months later, the JD (U) supremo bid adieu to Bihar politics and announced his next move to join the Elders. The sudden exit of Bi har’s most influential leader from state poli tics has triggered intense buzz within the JD(U) and also the opposition ranks. The most asked questions are the following: A)“Why would Nitish take oath as the chief minister, only to resign a few months later?” B) Is Nitish’s deteriorating health a stumbling block for him? C) Will Nitish’s exit pave the way for a BJP CM? It may be noted that though BJP won more seats than JD (U) in both the 2025 and 2020 Bihar elections, the NDA went ahead with Nitish as the CM following his wide spread popularity. And hence, for the 2025 elec tions, NDA took no chance but contested the polls un der Nitish Kumar and his women-centric schemes, ‘sushasan’ babu image and overall popularity boost ed the alliance’s fortune a great deal. RJD Reaction “… We fully sympathise with him. We are aware of what has been happen ing and what he has been going through. If we had been there, perhaps Ni tish would not have had to face this situation,” he said. The former Deputy Chief Minister alleged that a “complete conspiracy” was hatched during the Bihar Assembly elections and claimed that money power and the adminis trative machinery were misused. Further launching a scathing attack on BJP, Tejaswhi said, “Wherev er the BJP has been in alliance, it first works to finish off its own allied parties – be it the AIADMK in Tamil Nadu, the Shiv Sena in Maharashtra, the Akali Dal, Mehbooba’s party (PDP), Chautala’s party (INLD). From north to south, east to west, the BJP wants to fully imple ment the RSS agenda.” With the name of Ni tish Kumar’s son doing the rounds as the deputy CM… the Grand Old Party, Congress will have enough fodder to target both the BJP and the JDU over the “Parivar-vad issue.” Nitish’s career Nitish Kumar began his political career as a student activist. He first contested the Harnaut Assembly seat in 1977 but was unsuccessful. In 1985, he was elected from Harnaut to the Bihar Leg islative Assembly, mark ing the beginning of his active legislative career. He entered the Lok Sabha in 1989 after be ing elected from the Barh constituency. He was sub sequently re-elected from Barh in 1991, 1996, 1998 and 1999. In the Union government, he handled key portfoli os including Agriculture, Railways and Surface Transport. In 2004, he was elect ed to the Lok Sabha from the Nalanda constituency. Nitish Kumar first took oath as Chief Minister of Bihar in 2000, although that government lasted only seven days. A deci sive shift in Bihar politics came in November 2005, when he was sworn in again as Chief Minister. He subsequently returned to office in 2010, 2015, 2020 and 2025 under chang ing political alignments. During this period, he governed Bihar both in alliance with the NDA and alongside the RJD led by Lalu Prasad Yadav. (Robin Roy is a Senior Journalist and former Senior Associate Editor, O Heraldo, Goa)
