Bihar politics witnessed a major change on Thursday as the state’s longest-serving Chief Minister Nitish Kumar filed his nomination for the Rajya Sabha elections and extended “full support” to the new cabinet.
Janata Dal (United) chief Nitish Kumar won his fifth election in 2025 as the NDA secured a two-thirds majority in Bihar and was sworn in as the state’s chief minister for the 10th time.
The 75-year-old wrote an emotional message announcing his decision. He expressed his strong desire to become a member of both the houses of the Bihar Assembly as well as the Houses of Parliament. He reiterated his commitment towards building a “developed Bihar” and assured his “support and guidance” to the new government.
Nitish Kumar posted on
The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) welcomed Kumar’s decision and lauded his return to parliamentary democracy. Union Home Minister Amit Shah described Nitish Kumar’s tenure as Chief Minister of Bihar as a “golden chapter” in the state’s history, during which he made significant contributions to Bihar’s progress.
He said, “For 11 years under the leadership of Prime Minister Modi, he contributed significantly to the progress of Bihar in every way and under his leadership, all the initiatives of Prime Minister Modi reached the people of Bihar… He is once again returning to Delhi as a Rajya Sabha MP. I and all our NDA colleagues extend a hearty welcome to him and his tenure as Chief Minister will always be remembered and respected by the people of Bihar.”
Union Minister Giriraj Singh welcomed Kumar’s decision and confirmed that the government in Bihar will be formed under his leadership. Meanwhile, Union Minister and JDU MP Rajeev Ranjan (Lalan) Singh said that no one can imagine Nitish Kumar’s achievement in building Bihar, and that they themselves will decide where they want to go.
JDU leader Harsh Vardhan Singh welcomed his decision and said that Nitish Kumar always wanted to be present in all four houses and he had filed nomination for Rajya Sabha elections on his own free will.
He further said, “When he had only 43 seats, no one could suppress him. Today he has 85 seats. No one can suppress him. He has his own will. He does whatever he wants and the people of Bihar stand with him wholeheartedly…”.
In a similar spirit, Rashtriya Lok Morcha (RLM) chief and NDA’s Rajya Sabha candidate Upendra Kushwaha said Kumar served as chief minister of Bihar for more than 20 years and will now serve Delhi.
“As for the NDA candidates, 5 candidates have filed their nominations today… All candidates are certain to win… Nitish Kumar is going to (Rajya Sabha); it is his decision, and everyone appreciates his decision,” he said.
However, opposition parties condemned Nitish Kumar’s decision, accusing the BJP of “kidnapping” him and terming the move as “political kidnapping, leadership coup, deceit and betrayal”.
Strongly criticizing Kumar’s decision, Jairam Ramesh wrote in a post on
Leader of Opposition in Bihar Assembly Tejashwi Yadav accused the BJP of playing “tricks” against Nitish Kumar and said the BJP’s slogan ’30 again Nitish from 2025′ has failed. He said that the people of the state oppose the change of power.
Tejashwi Yadav told reporters, “I have always said, ‘Nitish ji has been offered a horse by making him a groom but he is getting her married to someone else’… BJP has completely hijacked Nitish Kumar. Nitish Kumar has said that he wants to go (Rajya Sabha)… We have been saying from the beginning that BJP people will not allow Nitish Kumar to remain on the post of Chief Minister after the elections… Today that has been proved true for the public. The aspirations are against this change of power…”.
Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Mrityunjay Tiwari said the announcement came as a shock just months after the assembly elections ended and termed it “a major political hijacking”.
He further said that the announcement exposed the BJP’s “attitude” towards its allies. Congress leader Sachin Pilot also expressed similar concerns and questioned the logic behind resigning from the state leadership as he had received the public mandate.
Pointing to Nitish Kumar’s history of repeatedly changing his stance, Pilot said that this decision could also be an example of the same. He also questioned its impact on Bihar and expressed fears that the BJP may gain control of the state. Congress leader Udit Raj, highlighting unemployment in Bihar and the low level of education in government institutions, said that if Nitish Kumar becomes an MP, it would be more “respectable” for him to “not play any role”.
Meanwhile, Congress’ Maharashtra MLA Nana Patole compared Nitish Kumar’s situation with that of Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, who was not re-elected as chief minister after the Mahayuti got majority in the 2024 Maharashtra Assembly elections, and the BJP emerged as the single largest party.
Meanwhile, JDU supporters and party workers protested outside the Chief Minister’s residence in Patna, refusing to believe that Nitish Kumar has decided to step down as Chief Minister.