Nitish Kumar to take oath as Rajya Sabha MP on April 10, resign as Bihar chief minister after returning from Delhi

Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar will resign after taking oath as a Rajya Sabha member, which is scheduled for April 10. Hindustan Times, quoting a JD (U) leader, reported that Kumar would resign as the Bihar CM within a couple of days after returning from Delhi.

“He will take oath as member of the Rajya Sabha and after returning from there, he will tender his resignation from the post of CM. He has already resigned from the Bihar Legislative Council and got elected to the Rajya Sabha. So, it is just a matter of time for him to resign from CM’s post to set the stage for the next government formation,” the JD (U) leader told Hindustan Times.

Nitish Kumar resigns as MLC

Earlier, on March 30, Kumar resigned from his membership in the Bihar Legislative Council (MLC), as a person cannot hold seats in both a state legislature and Parliament simultaneously for more than 14 days.

Nitish Kumar to get Z-Plus security

Kumar will enjoy Z-Plus security cover after entering the Rajya Sabha, according to a notification issued here by the state home department.

According to PTI, as the CM, Kumar enjoyed a special security cover provided under the state's Bihar Special Security Act, 2000, which is modelled after the SPG Act meant for the Prime Minister.

The notification said that the decision about providing security to Kumar was taken in view of the JD(U) president's imminent move to Parliament, which would require him to give up the chief minister's post.

Who will succeed Nitish Kumar?

Though there is no official word yet on who will succeed Kumar as the next Bihar CM, several names, including that of Deputy CM Samrat Choudhary and Union Minister Nityanand Rai, have been making rounds recently.

There are also growing speculations that Kumar’s son, Nishant Kumar, may formally join the JD(U) and potentially take on a leadership role, such as Deputy Chief Minister in the next government, which is likely to be led by the BJP.

The opposition, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), however, alleged that with the resignation of Kumar, Bihar's governance will be shifted into the hands of leaders from Delhi and Gujarat.

"In the last 35 years, Bihar attained political sovereignty under the rule of JD(U) or RJD. Now, Bihar has fallen into the hands of two Gujaratis. Now, the decision on the Bihar CM will be made in Delhi and Gujarat. This is really sad for Bihar,” RJD MP Sudhakar Singh told ANI.

Bihar Assembly Elections

Kumar, who is a record 10-time Chief Minister of Bihar, resigned from his post, little over four months after the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) won a landslide victory in the assembly elections.

The NDA won 202 of the 243 seats in the Bihar Assembly with the BJP bagging the most - 89 seats, while JD (U) tasted success in 85.