Bihar special: NDA's 'clean sweep' in Rajya Sabha seats; who will be the new Chief Minister?

New Delhi : Monday turned out to be a historic day in Bihar politics. In the elections for five Rajya Sabha seats, the ruling NDA secured a clean sweep, winning all five seats convincingly. With this victory, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s path to the Rajya Sabha is now clear, sparking speculation about Bihar’s next chief minister.

Election results: strategic win and setback for opposition

According to the returning officer, all five NDA candidates won the election. The main highlights were Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and BJP national president Nitin Naveen, both of whom received 44 first-preference votes each.

List of winning candidates:

Nitish Kumar (JDU): Chief minister, now Rajya Sabha MP.

Nitin Naveen (BJP): BJP national president.

Ramnath Thakur (JDU): Union minister (re-elected).

Upendra Kushwaha (RLM): President of Rashtriya Lok Morcha.

Shivesh Kumar (BJP): Defeated RJD’s Amarendra Dhari Singh based on second-preference votes.

For the opposition, the election came as a major setback. Despite having sufficient numbers, three Congress MLAs and one RJD MLA were absent during voting, which ensured the defeat of the RJD candidate.

Big shift: Nitish Kumar’s parliamentary journey

Nitish Kumar has now joined a select group of leaders who have been members of all four houses of the legislature—Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha, Vidhan Sabha, and Vidhan Parishad. There is speculation that he may soon resign as chief minister and take on a larger national role in Delhi.

Who will be the next chief minister? Three key contenders

With Nitish Kumar moving to the Rajya Sabha, discussions are ongoing from Delhi to Patna about his successor:

Samrat Choudhary (BJP): Deputy chief minister and BJP state president. His strong hold over backward classes and BJP’s growing dominance make him a leading contender.

Vijay Kumar Sinha (BJP): Former विधानसभा speaker and current deputy chief minister. His administrative experience and popularity among upper-caste voters keep him in the race.

Sanjay Kumar Jha (JDU): A close aide of Nitish Kumar. He could emerge as a consensus candidate if a new power-sharing formula is worked out between BJP and JDU.

Additionally, there is growing buzz about Nishant Kumar (Nitish Kumar’s son) possibly entering politics and being given an important role in the new government.