Nitish Kumar Set to Exit Bihar CM Post, Son Likely to Become Deputy CM: Sources

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar is expected to step down from his position and move to the Rajya Sabha, with his son Nishant Kumar tipped to take over as Deputy Chief Minister, according to well-placed sources.

The development, if it materialises, would represent one of the most significant leadership transitions in Bihar’s recent political history and could coincide with the forthcoming Rajya Sabha polls. Senior figures in Kumar’s Janata Dal (United) have indicated that Nitish Kumar intends to submit his nomination papers tomorrow, with Union Home Minister Amit Shah reportedly scheduled to be present at the filing. A prominent leader from Kumar’s own caste constituency, whose name has also figured in Rajya Sabha speculation, described the situation as a cause for sorrow, confirming that the final decision was taken in Delhi. Sources suggest the Chief Minister may formally resign as soon as next week.

Nitish Kumar has so far made no public statement on the matter. Should he proceed with the plan, the arrangement would effectively place the Bharatiya Janata Party in direct command of the Bihar government — an outcome long desired within the National Democratic Alliance framework.

Several BJP leaders are being discussed as possible replacements for the top post. Current Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary, who also holds the crucial Home department, is viewed as a strong frontrunner. Union Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai is another prominent name in circulation, while Patna Digha MLA Sanjeev Chaurasia has also been mentioned. Party insiders stress that the successor should belong to a backward caste community.

Speculation about Kumar’s eventual exit has persisted since well before the 2025 assembly elections, though his unmatched political stature had always made any change a delicate proposition. Now 75, Nitish Kumar holds the record as Bihar’s longest-serving Chief Minister, having taken oath an unprecedented 10 times. He has led the state almost continuously since 2015, with only a brief interruption when ally Jitan Ram Manjhi occupied the chair.

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Known for steering election campaigns for both the NDA and the rival Mahagathbandhan, Kumar has retained remarkable voter loyalty despite repeated alliance flips. His signature welfare measures — notably the bicycle scheme for girl students and the statewide liquor prohibition — have cemented strong support, particularly among women, helping deliver an unexpectedly robust performance in the 2025 polls when many analysts had already discounted him.

For the BJP, engineering a post-Kumar arrangement has long been complicated by his enduring popularity and electoral pull, even as arithmetic after the assembly results positioned JD(U) as the junior partner. Restlessness has grown among state BJP ranks after years of waiting in the wings, while the opposition Rashtriya Janata Dal has repeatedly questioned Kumar’s age and fitness to continue.

Under the reported blueprint, Nishant Kumar — who has only recently become active in politics — would step into the Deputy Chief Minister’s role as the BJP assumes the Chief Ministership in Patna.