Bihar Political Crisis: Nitish Kumar Routes For BJP's Sushil Modi As Deputy CM, Seeks Time From Governor; Oath Likely Today

Nitish Kumar is likely to hold a meeting of JDU MLAs today and may resign after that.

Amid another political churning in Bihar, Nitish Kumar is likely to resign today and take oath once again as the Chief Minister for the record 9th time, this time as the CM of the NDA alliance. While the BJP-led NDA has been a comfortable enclosure for Kumar, the socialist leader has not shied away from dumping the saffron party and joining hands with his rival Rashtriya Janata Dal twice so far. Nitish Kumar's likely return to the NDA today will mark his another u-turn. Over the years, Kumar has created such an image for himself that he keeps on playing the role of the king and the kingmaker in Bihar's politics. The numbers and political leaning in the Bihar assembly stack up in a manner that makes Nitish Kumar the fulcrum of power. Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has sought time to meet the Governor in the first half today.

Now, as per reports, Kumar is likely to hold a meeting of JDU MLAs today and may resign after that. According to reports, the oath-taking ceremony may take place at 4 pm today and all the arrangements have been put in place. The BJP also gave a free hand to Kumar for selecting his deputies and if the reports are to be believed, CM Kumar proposed the name of Sushil Modi who has been Deputy CM under him thrice. Other names in the race for the deputy CM are Renu Devi and Tarkishore Prasad. It has also been finalized that three ministers each from the BJP and the JDU and one from Jitan Ram Manjhi's HAM will take oath today.

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The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Nitish Kumar's Janata Dal (United) or JD(U) have recently reached an agreement on seat-sharing for the upcoming Lok Sabha election, scheduled in three months. It has been reported that all BJP MLAs in Bihar have already expressed their support for Nitish Kumar.

These recent developments suggest that Nitish Kumar, the JD(U) chief who switched alliances to join the Mahagathbandhan or Grand Alliance in August 2022, has decisively moved beyond the point of reconciliation in maintaining the alliance government with the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and the Indian National Congress. On the other hand, the RJD is waiting for Kumar's next move. As per reports, Lalu Yadav's 

According to reports, post-2025 when the assembly elections will be held in Bihar, Nitish Kumar is likely to assume a prominent role at the central level, thus ending his stint as the Chief Minister.