Closed-door meeting at CM’s house on the eve of Nitish Kumar’s likely resignation

With just one day left for Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar to resign from the State’s Legislative Council, senior leaders of his Janata Dal (United) party rushed to his official residence in Patna to hold closed-door meetings, amidst pleas from a section of the party for Mr. Kumar to remain in Bihar, and a lack of clarity regarding his potential successor.

Mr. Kumar secured a Rajya Sabha seat through an election held on March 16. According to the rules, he is required to resign from his seat in the State legislature — and step down from the Chief Minister’s post — within 14 days of being elected to Parliament. Two days ago, Bihar Assembly Speaker Prem Kumar had noted that the Bihar CM still had time to resign, till March 30.

The leaders who met with Mr. Kumar at the CM’s official residence on Sunday included Union Minister Rajiv Ranjan Singh alias Lalan Singh, Bihar Water Resources Minister Vijay Kumar Choudhary, Bihar Rural Work Minister Ashok Choudhary, JD(U) working president Sanjay Jha, and several MLAs, including Mokama MLA Anant Singh.

JD(U) workers plead with Nitish to stay

Sources said that during the closed-door meeting, several leaders again suggested that Mr. Kumar not leave Bihar politics. Ever since he announced that he was moving to the Rajya Sabha, many party workers and leaders have urged the Bihar CM to reconsider his decision.

Even during Mr. Kumar’s Samriddhi Yatra, which ended on March 26, hundreds of party workers and residents were heard shouting slogans asking the CM why he was going to Delhi. Supporters held up placards and put up hoardings, urging him to stay back in Bihar.

However, after meeting Mr. Kumar, Mr. Anant Singh said that though he had also urged him to stay back, the CM had made his decision, and was likely to resign on March 30. “I urged him not to resign from the Council but he did not listen to me,” Mr. Singh said after he emerged from the meeting.

Race for CM’s post

In the race to succeed Mr. Kumar as CM, the frontrunner is Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary. Even Mr. Kumar himself, during the Samriddhi Yatra, had indicated that this was the likely choice,

However, several JD(U) leaders have said that Mr. Nitish Kumar’s son, Nishant Kumar, who recently entered active politics, should be his father’s successor. They claimed that the junior Mr. Kumar has all the qualities needed to become the Chief Minister.

Nabin also yet to resign

In another development, BJP national president Nitin Nabin, who was also elected to the Rajya Sabha on March 16, was scheduled to resign as a member of the Bihar Legislative Assembly on Sunday. However, this was postponed at the eleventh hour, even though Speaker Prem Kumar had reached the Assembly for the resignation on Sunday.

A message was circulated on the official Whatsapp group from the Assembly office, saying, “All are hereby informed that today at 8:40 a.m., BJP National President Nitin Nabin will tender his resignation from the membership of the Legislative Assembly in the office chamber of the Speaker, Bihar Legislative Assembly.”

After fifteen minutes, however, another message was sent in the same Whatsapp group, saying, “BJP national president Nitin Nabin did not resign from his membership of the Legislative Assembly today due to unavoidable reasons.”

Party sources said that Mr. Nabin had rushed to poll-bound Assam, while the Assembly Speaker went to the national capital.

Asked about Mr. Nabin tendering his resignation, Mr. Prem Kumar said, “BJP State President Sanjay Saraogi called me and said that Nitin Nabin ji will resign today so I came to the Assembly. But he has some other work so it got postponed.”