Last Updated:March 04, 2026, 16:27 IST

Nitish Kumar, the JDU chief, is set to file his nomination for the upper house of Parliament on Thursday.

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar

Bihar’s political circles were abuzz amid growing speculation that Chief Minister Nitish Kumar may step down from the state’s top post after being elected to the Rajya Sabha. The JDU chief is set to file his nomination for the upper house of Parliament on Thursday and News18 Hindi sources confirmed that he will not continue as Bihar’s Chief Minister once elected as a member of the Rajya Sabha. The development triggered a flurry of questions about who will succeed him and what role, if any, his son Nishant Kumar will play in the new political arrangement.

Nishant Kumar In Frame

Sources told News18 Hindi that Nishant Kumar could be elevated to the post of Deputy Chief Minister. While no official confirmation has come from the JDU or the NDA alliance, chatter around his name has grown, with at least one senior minister close to Nitish Kumar publicly alluding to a “dramatic entry” for Nishant Kumar into active politics.

Adding weight to the conjecture, JDU’s national working president Sanjay Jha arrived in Patna from Delhi on Wednesday and held a long closed-door meeting with Nitish Kumar. Union Minister Rajiv Ranjan Singh, also known as Lalan Singh, was also reported to have made his way from Delhi to Patna.

The Rajya Sabha Numbers Game

At the heart of the political activity is a complex arithmetic challenge around Bihar’s fifth Rajya Sabha seat. Winning a single seat requires the support of 41 MLAs. The NDA’s combined strength in the Bihar assembly- comprising BJP, JDU, LJP (Ram Vilas), HAM and RLJM legislators- stands at 202, making four of the five seats virtually certain wins for the alliance.

However, the fifth seat presents a tighter calculation. Upendra Kushwaha has been named the NDA candidate for that seat but the nomination has already drawn attention after LJP chief Chirag Paswan indicated he was unaware of the decision. To eliminate any risk of cross-voting or absenteeism, all NDA MLAs have been summoned to Patna ahead of Thursday’s nomination filing.

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