'Our party has formed governments independently in all neighbouring states except West Bengal; now it's Bihar's turn.'
The suspense surrounding the chief ministerial candidate for the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance in the upcoming Bihar assembly elections (scheduled for October-November 2025) has significantly deepened.
This is largely due to the complete silence on the matter from Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
While both Modi and Shah have repeatedly stated that the NDA will contest the elections under Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's leadership, they have so far avoided explicitly naming him for the top post.
This marks the first time in over two decades that the BJP's top leadership has hesitated to declare Nitish Kumar as the chief ministerial candidate.
Modi, during his three visits to Bihar in the past three months (April, May, and June), addressed three public meetings, with the latest on June 20 in Siwan. However, he made no mention of the chief ministerial face.
Similarly, Amit Shah has clarified thrice since last year that the chief ministerial candidate has not yet been decided.
Last year, when asked if Nitish Kumar would be the candidate or if the BJP would adopt a strategy similar to Maharashtra (where they changed the chief minister after the election outcome), Shah stated that the NDA's CM face for the Bihar assembly elections had not been decided.
Following these statements, the Janata Dal-United has asserted that there will be no compromise on Nitish Kumar's name as the NDA's chief ministerial candidate for the Bihar assembly elections.
Just two days ago, Shah reportedly told an English newspaper in an interview that 'only time will decide who will be the NDA chief minister of Bihar'. This statement comes amidst increasing speculation that the BJP has decided not to declare Nitish Kumar as the NDA's CM candidate and intends to drop him after the next election results.
"It's a political compulsion for the BJP to use Nitish Kumar's face until the election. Post-poll, they will play a game in Bihar similar to what happened in Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh," a political analyst observed.
Interestingly, leaders of Nitish Kumar's JD-U, a major ally of the BJP, are vocally claiming that their leader will be the next chief minister, arguing he is the only suitable and accepted face with no alternative. They even use the slogan, "2025 se 30 phir se Nitish Kumar" (Nitish Kumar again from 2025 to 2030).
Adding to the pressure, Nishant Kumar, Nitish Kumar's son, has demanded that Modi and Shah declare his father as the NDA's chief ministerial face for the upcoming polls.
Although Nishant is not yet active in politics, he has been campaigning for his father to continue as chief minister if the NDA wins the assembly election.
Nishant's demand, which also names Nitish Kumar as the JD-U president, is seen as a strategic move to strengthen the chief minister's position within the ruling alliance.
However, leaders of the BJP, currently the largest single party in the state assembly and hopeful of maintaining that position after the next polls, believe they will ultimately decide the CM face.
A senior party leader stated, "Yes, we will contest the next polls under Nitish Kumar's leadership, but without projecting him as the next CM this time. It will be decided after the polls."
This statement reinforces ongoing speculation in political circles that the BJP is aiming to play a dominant role and replace Nitish Kumar with one of its own leaders as chief minister.
"Modi and Shah's reluctance to declare Nitish as the chief ministerial face appears to be a deliberate step, part of a well-designed political strategy by the BJP to play a 'big brother' role after playing second fiddle to Kumar for the last two decades," another political analyst commented.
A senior BJP leader and former Bihar minister admitted that in 2023, when the BJP was in Opposition, party leaders repeatedly announced their intention to form their own government in 2025.
Sources within the Bihar BJP confirmed that the party desires to form a government in Bihar independently, with one of its leaders as chief minister.
"The BJP is no longer ready to play second fiddle in Bihar. Our party has formed governments independently in all neighbouring states except West Bengal; now it's Bihar's turn," a BJP source stated.
Despite this, not only Nitish's JD-U, the third-largest party with 45 out of 243 seats in the Bihar assembly, wants him to continue in the top job, but Nitish Kumar himself has not hinted that he will not be in the race for the next chief minister, having served as the longest-serving chief minister since 2005 (barring a few months in 2014).