Political Transition in Bihar | Nitish Kumar to Resign

Bihar is on track to undergo yet another major political change, as Chief Minister Nitish Kumar plans to resign on November 19 and pave the way for a new NDA government. The oath-taking ceremony for the new NDA government will be on November 20 at historic Gandhi Maidan in Patna, where the prime minister is expected to participate in the ceremony and is also likely to attend.

While it has not yet been officially confirmed Nitish will return as chief minister, there are strong indications from NDA leaders saying he will lead the government again. There is also an indication in discussions among the NDA of the possibility of “unexpected faces” to fill cabinet reappointments.

Resignation of Nitish Kumar and Dissolution of the Assembly and Meeting with Party Leadership

Since the existing Bihar Assembly term will end on November 22, it is a timely and constitutionally correct move by Kumar. On Monday, Nitish Kumar met with Governor Arif Mohammad Khan to inform him of the cabinet’s recommendation to dissolve the existing assembly. JD(U) leader Vijay Kumar Chowdhary said Nitish will submit his formal resignation today.

Both the BJP and JD(U) will hold important legislature party meetings on Wednesday. Nitish Kumar is likely to be selected:

JD(U) Legislature Party Leader at 11 am
NDA Leader at 3:30 pm

After these protocols, he will once again meet the governor to “resign” and will also provide a letter of support from the NDA to form the government.

Deputy CM contest and Power Sharing

The alliance has not yet decided if Bihar would have a single deputy chief minister or more deputy chief ministers in the new government. In the outgoing government, both Samrat Choudhary and Vijay Kumar Sinha were deputy chief ministers.

Discussion is taking place to find a balance with respect to caste representation, gender representation, and representation in the NDA. Reports have suggested JD(U) is okay with one deputy chief minister as long as the BJP takes the speaker’s post. Meanwhile, both parties are still negotiating over the important portfolios of Home and Education, both of which were held by JD(U).

The upcoming cabinet could feature “surprise faces”, according to one source within the alliance. Reports have also suggested a balance of experienced leaders and youth as potential candidates. Key ratios for the upcoming cabinet are tentatively set at approximately one minister for every six MLAs. This could lead to:

LJP(RV): 3 ministerial positions

HAM(S): 1 position

RLM: 1 position

The remaining 30-31 to BJP and JD(U)

Under the constitutional limit, Bihar is allotted a maximum of 36 ministers within the 243-member Assembly.

Nitish Kumar Oath Likely to be Taken for the 10th Time

If Nitish Kumar gets back as chief minister, it will be the 10th oath-taking for him, making him one of the longest-serving leaders in the political history of Bihar. This will be the 4th full-fledged oath-taking ceremony at Gandhi Maidan, and only in 2020 was it downsized due to Covid.

NDA’s Strong Performance in the Polls

This political reworking in Bihar comes on the heels of a phenomenal performance by the NDA in the recent Assembly polls, leading to the alliance achieving 202 out of the 243 seats. The distribution of seats was as follows:

BJP — 89

JD(U) — 85

LJP(RV) — 19

HAM(S) — 5

RLM — 4

Mahagathbandhan — 35 seats

With the numbers heavily in its favour, the NDA is set to form the next Bihar government, led once again by Nitish Kumar at the centre of state politics.