Bihar CM Nitish Kumar to resign as MLC after being elected JD(U) Prez

JD(U) MLA Anant Kumar Singh announced that Bihar CM Nitish Kumar will resign as an MLC. This comes after Kumar was unanimously elected JD(U) president and filed his nomination for the Rajya Sabha, signalling a potential return to national politics.

JD(U) MLA Anant Kumar Singh on Sunday said that the party president and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar will tender his resignation from the post of MLC on Monday. Speaking to reporters, Singh said that while the party members were reeling, the CM made the decision to resign from the Bihar Legislative Council. "Yes, he is doing so. Everyone wanted the same (that he should not resign from the CM post), but he did not agree...," he said.

Unopposed Election as JD(U) President

Chief Minister Nitish Kumar was, on Tuesday, unanimously elected as President of the Janata Dal (United) after no other candidate filed a nomination for the post. The announcement was made in the national capital by JD(U) leader Anil Hegde during a press conference, who outlined the election process. He stated that the last date for filing nominations was March 22, scrutiny was conducted on March 23, and the deadline for withdrawal of nominations was today at 11 am. With only Nitish Kumar's nomination in contention, he was declared elected unopposed.

Rajya Sabha Nomination

However, earlier on March 5, Bihar's longest-serving Chief Minister, Nitish Kumar, filed his nomination for the Rajya Sabha elections, extending "full support" to the new Cabinet. The 75-year-old penned a heartfelt message announcing his decision. He expressed his longing desire to be a member of both houses of the Bihar Legislature as well as the Houses of Parliament. He asserted his commitment to building a "developed Bihar" and extended his "cooperation and guidance" to the new government. The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) welcomed Kumar's decision and lauded his return to the parliamentary democracy.

A Career of Political Realignments

Nitish Kumar's political career is a masterclass in coalition manoeuvring, marked by a series of high-stakes ideological shifts. Beginning his journey as an MLA in 1985 and later serving as a Union Minister under the Vajpayee government, he first ascended to the Bihar Chief Minister's office in 2005 as a pillar of the NDA. Since 2013, however, his tenure has been defined by a "revolving door" of alliances, alternating between the BJP and the Mahagathbandhan (RJD and Congress) in 2013, 2017, 2022, and 2024. Despite these frequent realignments, his political survival remains unparalleled; most recently, he secured a fifth electoral landslide in 2025, taking the oath as Chief Minister for a record-breaking tenth time.

Kumar's return to the national arena could also pave the way for the BJP to have a greater say in the government in Bihar and perhaps even stake a claim to the CM's chair. (ANI)

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