Bihar CM Nitish Kumar may step down, likely to go to Rajya Sabha; son Nishant Kumar likely to become Deputy CM

Amid intense speculations and ahead of the last day for withdrawal of names for the five Rajya Sabha seats getting vacant from Bihar, hectic political activity is going on in Patna on Wednesday (March 4, 2026).

It is speculated that Chief Minister Nitish Kumar is likely to step down from the post, and he may go to the Rajya Sabha. Speculations in the State’s fast changing political scenario are also rife that his son, Nishant Kumar, may become Deputy Chief Minister of the State with the Chief Minister from the ruling coalition partner, BJP.

Meeting of top JD-U leaders, including the party’s working president Sanjay Kumar Jha and Union Minister and party’s MP from Munger Rajeev Ranjan Singh alias Lalan Singh are going on at the official residence of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar 1, Anne Marg (till the time of reporting).

Last year, in November 2025, Mr. Nitish Kumar took oath as the Chief Minister of the state for the 10^th time. Barring nine months when Jitan Ram Manjhi was the Chief Minister, Nitish Kumar has been the CM of the State since November 2005. Earlier in the day, senior JD-U leaders and Ministers in Nitish Kumar’s cabinet, Bijendra Prasad Yadav and Ashok Choudhary, are said to have spoken to Mr. Nitish Kumar.

In the last assembly elections, the ruling NDA had got a total of 202 seats with JD-U 85, while ally BJP had bagged 89 seats, Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) 19 seats and other smaller parties like Rashtriya Lok Morcha, led by Upendra Kushwaha, 4 and Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) 5 seats. In total, 243 members of the State Assembly, a candidate needs the support of 41 MLAs to bag a Rajya Sabha seat.

On Tuesday (March 3, 2026), a senior leader of JD-U and Minister in the State, Shrawan Kumar, announced that Mr. Nishant Kumar, son of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, is going to enter “active politics” very soon.  Some JD-U leaders have also been demanding Mr. Nishant Kumar’s entry into politics for long, and even posters for this were earlier put up on the walls of party headquarters in Patna.

Thursday (March 5, 2026), is the last date for withdrawing names for the five Rajya Sabha seats getting vacant from Bihar. Of the total 16 Rajya Sabha seats from Bihar, five seats are getting vacant on April 9. Two from JD-U Harivansh Narayan Singh who is also Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha, Union minister of State for Agriculture and Farmer’s Welfare, Ram Nath Thakur who is also son of late Bihar Chief Minister and veteran socialist leader Bharat Ratna Karpoori Thakur, One from other ally Rashtriya Lok Morcha (RLM) chief Upendra Kushwaha, and two from Opposition Rashtriya Janata Dal Prem Chand Gupta and Amarendra Dhari Singh Election, if need be, will be held on March 16.

In the 2025 State Assembly elections, the Opposition Rashtriya Janata Dal won 25, the Congress 6, the Communist Party of India (Marxists-Leninist) 2, Communist Party of India (Marxist) 1, All India Majlish-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) 5, Bahujan Samaj Party 1 and Indian Inclusive Party of party chief I.P. Gupta 1.

The NDA needs the support of three more MLAs, and the Opposition RJD needs the support of six legislators to bag the fifth seat for which name of RLM chief Upendra Kushwaha is said to have finalised from the NDA side.