All was ready for BJP national president Nitin Nabeen to resign from the Bihar Legislative Assembly on Sunday, but he shelved the plan and rushed to Delhi for an important meeting.
Bihar Legislative Assembly Speaker Prem Kumar, who was in New Delhi, rushed to Patna on Saturday evening to make necessary arrangements as soon as he received the news of Nabin’s resignation.
“I got information from BJP state president Sanjay Saraogi that the national party president is resigning, and accordingly I came back. Suddenly, it got delayed due to some important work. The rule is that he can remain a member of only one house for more than 14 days, but let’s see,” Prem Kumar said.
The Speaker said that he will again go to Delhi for some mission and will return by evening. For Nabin, March 30 is the deadline by which he has to resign from one of the houses, because after being elected to the Rajya Sabha, he cannot remain a member of both Parliament and the state legislature.
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The same goes for Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, who was also elected to the Rajya Sabha for the first time. Both were elected to the Rajya Sabha on March 16. Kumar is a member of the Bihar Legislative Council and is likely to resign on March 30. “Both of them may resign on Monday, which is the last day. Nabin has some pressing commitments and this is not a big deal,” a party leader said.
Under the Concurrent Membership Prohibition Rules 1950 (under Sections 101/190 of the Constitution), an elected member of both Parliament and the State Legislature must resign from one of them within 14 days.
Sources in the BJP said that serious deliberations are taking place within both the BJP and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) to replace Nitish Kumar, as Bihar has remained the only state in the heartland of India where it has struggled over the years. “There should also be deliberations on the new government. The BJP may want to send a message from the word go that it wants to walk the talk,” they added.
Incidentally, the elevation of Nabin, 45, to the top post of the BJP was also a surprise move and is being seen as a generational shift in the party. It seems that no one in the state had any idea that five-time MLA Nabin was promoted until it happened.
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“Having the first BJP chief minister in Bihar requires serious thought, as the person who will take over the post will be replacing Nitish Kumar, who has held the chair for two decades and built an aura around him. Moreover, there will be a lot of expectations from the BJP chief minister to deliver multiple benchmarks and bring strength to the party as well. He should be a face that no one can point to and at the same time have administrative acumen,” a senior leader said.
Although there has been widespread speculation about the possible names, BJP insiders said the final decision will come from senior party officials after weighing a lot of factors, including the complex political realities of the state and the oft-cited divisions within the state unit.
“The BJP has been waiting for this opportunity for a long time. In 2020 too, it was the largest party, but the political calculations did not allow it space for confirmation and Nitish Kumar was the unanimous choice. Now, it has to find someone who can fit into the establishment of the party as a force like in UP or Madhya Pradesh,” they added.
