Bihar: As Nitish packs bags in Anne Marg 1, power tussle between JD(U) and BJP for CM post

NEW DELHI: Months after a high-stakes assembly election, politics in Bihar has heated up again with Chief Minister Nitish Kumar deciding to resign from the top job to get a seat in the Lok Sabha.According to reports, Nitish is likely to tender his resignation as CM on April 14 and move out of his official residence.Janata Dal (United) working president Sanjay Kumar Jha said the process of forming the new government in Bihar will “begin after April 13”.“I think it will be rolled out after April 13. But you should contact someone at the state government for more details,” Jha said.JD(U) leader Vijay Kumar Chaudhary said: “The new chief minister will be selected by the NDA legislators on the recommendation of Parliament. bjp“.“The BJP has an important role to play in forming the new government. It has its own process on these issues. Once it comes up with a plan, necessary things will follow,” he added.Meanwhile, several BJP leaders, including Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Chaudhry, were also present at Nitish’s official residence. Chaudhry is one of the possible candidates to replace Nitish Kumar as chief minister of Bihar.Another BJP leader to make an appearance at the chief minister’s residence was Lakhendra Paswan, whose visit sparked speculation in a section of the media that the party might push for the Dalit leader.Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has been appointed as the central observer for the election of the leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party in the Legislature.“We need young Jansevak”Meanwhile, JD(U) workers put up posters across Patna calling for Nitish Kumar’s son Nishant to be given the chief ministership.The posters, put up by “Nitish sevaks” in the early hours of the morning, urged Nishant Kumar to become active in politics, describing him as a “youth leader” and calling on him to “come out of the shadows”.“We don’t need bulldozers, we don’t need riots or unrest in Bihar. We need a young Jansevak… It’s time he comes out of the shadows,” the poster read.Although there are speculations that Nishant Kumar may be made deputy chief minister, no official announcement has been made so far.Party sources acknowledged that cadres were suspicious of the role played by Jha and some other close aides of Nitish in recent developments, the Press Trust of India news agency reported.They said, “Yesterday, when the chief minister visited the JD(U) office in Delhi, many party workers insisted that the top post should not be given to the BJP even after he steps down. This scene was reported by all media and reflected the prevailing sentiment within the party to an extent.”“In Nishant (Nitish Kumar’s son, who recently joined the party), we have a young leader who is capable enough to take over from his father. However, we also realize that our leader is unlikely to push his son. But at least, we must hold on to all the benefits that the BJP currently enjoys, which include the posts of two deputy chief ministers, Speaker of Parliament and the important Home Minister,” they added.JD(U) sources said: “BJP has been acting cocky. Just look at the speed with which they nominated Harivansh Narayan Singh to the Rajya Sabha just days after we rejected him for a third consecutive term.”Tejashwi tags conspiracyMeanwhile, RJD national working president Tejashwi Yadav alleged that JD(U) chief Nitish Kumar gave up the post under “pressure” from his party colleagues who were “intimidated or seduced” by the ally Bharatiya Janata Party.“I bet some big names in the JD(U) have already made an agreement to remove Nitish Kumar. The agreement has not been made public as it would be counter-productive during the assembly elections,” Tejashwi told reporters on the sidelines of an RJD event.“It is nonsense to say that Nitish Kumar is in poor physical and mental health and has stepped down of his own volition. Recall the scenes in Delhi. Sanjay Jha preventing him from interacting with the media in the national capital is a testament to how much indignity and pressure the veteran leader has endured,” he claimed.He further said that the JD(U) leaders behind the conspiracy were either tempted by the BJP or were living in fear of ED and CBI as they had become tools of the party to rule the Centre.Nitish was sworn in as a member of the Rajya Sabha in a brief ceremony at the Parliament House in New Delhi. The oath-taking ceremony was administered by Congress Chairman CP Radhakrishnan at his office.