JD(U) MLA Hari Narayan Singh, a close aide of Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, on Saturday claimed that a “unanimous” decision has been taken to make party supremo Nishant’s son Nishant the deputy chief minister in the new government to be formed after his father’s resignation.
Singh, an MLA from Harnot, the assembly segment in Nalanda district that Kumar himself represented in the 1980s, also claimed that Nishant, who is entering politics in his late 40s, will be elected to the state legislative council next month.
“In the legislative party meeting held at the Prime Minister’s Residence, a unanimous decision was taken to make Nishant the deputy chief minister in the new government,” Singh told a private news channel here, a day after the JD(U) chief informed his colleagues of his decision to quit the post and move to the Rajya Sabha.
“It has also been decided that Nishant will formally join the JD(U). Since he has to become a member of the Legislative Council to hold a constitutional post, he will be elected to the Legislative Council in April when biennial elections are held for nine seats. He does not necessarily need to contest the seat which falls vacant when his father resigns,” the JD(U) MLA added.
Responding to a specific query, Singh said: “It is not clear whether Nishant will become deputy chief minister once a new government is formed or after some time. This is a decision that the high command will take at the appropriate time. I cannot say anything about the speculation that the JD(U) will insist on having two deputy chief ministers. Yesterday, the decision was taken on Nishant only.”
It is worth noting that Nishant is all set to officially join the JD(U) on Sunday, less than a week after his father, known to be a sharp critic of “dynastic politics”, chose to hang up his boots, less than four months after he was sworn in for a fifth consecutive term in office.
Speculation is rife that the prime minister’s post will now be taken by the BJP, the single largest party in the ruling NDA, and the JD(U) may insist on having two deputy prime ministers with the crucial Home Ministry portfolio, a complete reversal of the arrangement currently in place.
Of the two deputy chief ministers, Samrat Chaudhary and Vijay Kumar Sinha, both from the Bharatiya Janata Party, the House portfolio, which holds control of the state police, is held by the former.
Meanwhile, the Opposition continued to fish in the murky waters of the NDA, alleging that Kumar was “kicked out of Bihar” by the BJP, which also “denied him an honorable exit”.
“Nitish Kumar is not giving up his post on his own initiative. The BJP has expelled him from Bihar. But he has to resist and refuse to succumb to pressure,” former chief minister and RJD leader Rabri Devi told reporters.
Before filing nomination papers for the Rajya Sabha elections on Thursday, surprising most of his party colleagues, Kumar announced on social media that he wanted to enter the Upper House because “it has always been my desire to have experience of both the state legislature and Parliament”.
Bihar’s longest-serving chief minister, who was an MLC member throughout his tenure, had earlier represented Lok Sabha constituencies like Barh and Nalanda.
Meanwhile, state Congress media cell chief Rajesh Rathore asked Union Home Minister Amit Shah to “drop his harshness and allow Nitish Kumar, an old ally, to have an honorable exit”.
“Now that Nitish Kumar has decided to contest the Rajya Sabha elections, the least Amit Shah can do is withdraw one of his nominees and allow the remaining five, including the JD(U) chief, to be elected unopposed. Nitish Kumar has respected this tradition during his long tours,” Rathore said in a statement.
Six candidates, including a candidate from the RJD, an ally of the Congress, are vying in the biennial elections for five seats in the state, where, according to Rathore, “Nitish Kumar, since coming to power in 2005, has on all but one occasion ensured that all contenders to the Rajya Sabha are elected unopposed.”
