Kamal Ghorui
NEW DELHI: Months after a high-stakes assembly election, politics in Bihar is once again heating up following chief minister Nitish Kumar’s decision to resign from the top job for a Rajya Sabha seat.According to reports, Nitish is likely to submit his resignation as CM and vacate his official residence on April 14.Janata Dal (United) working president Sanjay Kumar Jha said that the process of formation of a new government in Bihar will “roll out after April 13.”“I think it will roll out after April 13. But you should speak to those who are in the state government for more details,” Jha said.JD(U) leader Vijay Kumar Chaudhary said, “The new chief minister will be elected by legislators of the NDA upon the recommendation of the BJP.”“The BJP has an important role to play in the formation of a new government. It has its own process in these matters. Once it comes forward with its plan, necessary things will follow,” he added.Meanwhile, several BJP leaders, including deputy chief minister Samrat Chaudhary, also turned up at Nitish’s residence. Chaudhary is among the likely names who could replace Nitish Kumar as Bihar CM.Another BJP leader who turned up at the chief minister’s residence was Lakhendra Paswan, and his visit fuelled speculation in a section of the media that the party may be pushing for the Dalit leader.Union minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has been appointed as the central observer for the election of the leader of the BJP legislature party.‘We need young jansevak’Meanwhile, JD(U) workers put up posters across Patna calling for Nitish Kumar’s son Nishant to take the chief ministerial post.The posters, put up early morning by “Nitish sevaks,” urged Nishant Kumar to step into active politics, describing him as a “youth leader” and calling on him to “come out of the shadows.”“We do not need a bulldozer, nor riots or unrest in Bihar. We need a young jansevak… it is time for him to come out of the shadow,” the posters read.While there is speculation that Nishant Kumar could take up the role of deputy chief minister, no official announcement has been made so far.According to news agency PTI, party sources admitted that there were misgivings among the cadres about the role played by Jha and some other close aides of Nitish in the recent developments.They said, “Yesterday, when the chief minister visited the JD(U) office in Delhi, many party workers insisted that even after he stepped down, the top post should not be given to the BJP. The visuals have been flashed by all media outlets and are, to an extent, reflective of the sentiment prevailing in the party here.”“In Nishant (Nitish Kumar’s son, who recently joined the party), we have a young leader capable enough of stepping into his father’s shoes. We, however, are also aware that our leader is unlikely to push for his son. But, at least, we must insist on all the benefits that the BJP is currently enjoying, which include posts like two deputy CMs, the Speaker of the Assembly, and the crucial Home portfolio,” they added.“The BJP, on its part, has been acting with swagger. Just look at the alacrity with which they nominated Harivansh Narayan Singh to the Rajya Sabha, days after we denied him a third consecutive term,” said the JD(U) sources.Tejashwi flags conspiracyMeanwhile, RJD national working president Tejashwi Yadav claimed that JD(U) president Nitish Kumar was giving up the post under “pressure” from his own party colleagues, who had been “intimidated or allured” by ally BJP.Talking to reporters on the sidelines of an RJD function, Tejashwi said, “I wager that the deal for removing Nitish Kumar had been struck by some bigwigs in the JD(U) long back. It had not been made public because it would have backfired during the assembly polls.”“It is rubbish to say that Nitish Kumar, who does not enjoy sound physical and mental health, is stepping down out of his own wish. Just recall the visuals from Delhi. The way he was stopped by Sanjay Jha from interacting with the media in the national capital is proof of how much insult and pressure the veteran leader is putting up with,” he alleged.He further said that the JD(U) leaders who are behind this conspiracy have either been allured by the BJP or are living in fear of the ED and the CBI, which have become instruments of the party ruling the Centre.Nitish took oath as a member of the Rajya Sabha in a brief ceremony at Parliament House in New Delhi. The oath was administered by Rajya Sabha Chairman CP Radhakrishnan in his chamber.
