Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar resigned as a Member of the Legislative Council (MLC) in Bihar today, 30 March. The Janata Dal (United) chief, a central figure of Bihar politics, was elected to the Rajya Sabha on 16 March.
The resignation would also pave the way for the Janata Dal (United) supremo to step down as Bihar’s Chief Minister, marking the end of his two-decade-long tenure in one of India’s most politically crucial states.
Kumar did not fight the assembly elections. He is not a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA). Instead, Kumar is an MLC. A chief minister of a state must be a member of one of the state’s houses – the assembly or the council.
Why did Nitish Kumar resign?
Now that Kumar is headed to the Rajya Sabha in Parliament, he must resign from the legislative council.
As per the Prohibition of Simultaneous Membership Rules (1950), framed under Article 101(2) of the Constitution, a person must resign from their seat in the state legislature within 14 days of their election declaration being published in the Gazette of India or the State Gazette, whichever is later. Failing this, their Rajya Sabha seat becomes vacant.
Today, 30 March, marks 14 days of Kumar’s election to the Rajya Sabha.
Can Nitish Kumar serve as CM for 6 months?
Article 164(4) of the Constitution of India provides flexibility, allowing a person to serve as Chief Minister or a minister for a period of six months without being a member of the state legislature or council. This clause enables Nitish Kumar to potentially remain in office temporarily, even after transitioning to Parliament, for at least 6 months.
Kumar’s switch to the Upper House of Parliament is historic, as he would be the first sitting chief minister to announce his decision to move to the Rajya Sabha. Before him, Chief Ministers have moved from the state to the Centre, but only after a gap.
Former Tripura CM Biplab Deb, for example, chose to run for the Rajya Sabha in 2022, months after resigning as chief minister. Kumar made the announcement in the middle of his tenth term as chief minister.
BJP leader to replace Nitish?
Kumar’s move brings the curtains down on his two-decade journey as Bihar Chief Minister. A BJP leader is likely to replace the JD-U chief as Bihar CM. And this could be the first time the BJP has a chief minister in Bihar.
The move came months after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) won a landslide victory, securing 202 of the 243 seats in the 2025 Bihar Assembly Elections, defeating the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD)-led Mahagathbandhan (MGB), which secured just 35 seats.
For the first time, the BJP became the single-largest party in the Bihar assembly, with 89 seats, followed by the JD(U) with 85 seats.
Nitish Kumar took the oath for a record tenth time. Samrat Chaudhary and Vijay Kumar Sinha took the oath as the deputy chief ministers for the second consecutive time.
Who will be Bihar’s next CM?
A BJP leader could replace Nitish Kumar. The outgoing CM’s son, Nishant Kumar, was a contender to be the deputy chief minister till a few days ago. But there has been no official announcement yet.
The Janata Dal United has reportedly said it does not want the BJP to adopt “Madhya Pradesh or Rajasthan-style experiments” that saw the BJP’s central leadership spring a surprise by elevating relatively lesser-known leaders as CMs.
Senior BJP leader Vinod Tawde is already in Patna to meet with state leaders.
Going by the buzz in Bihar’s political circles, Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary, Union Minister Nityanand Rai and Bihar minister Dilip Kumar Jaiswal are top contenders for the CM post.
Choudhary is one of the most senior BJP leaders from Bihar. He has been a Panchayati Raj Minister before holding the home affairs portfolio in Bihar, as well as in his second stint as deputy chief minister.
Jaiswal is a three-time member of the legislative council and has also served as the Bihar BJP chief. Another name doing the rounds is Digha MLA Sanjiv Chaurasiya.
Kumar’s switch to the Upper House of Parliament is historic, as he would be the first sitting chief minister to announce his decision to move to the Rajya Sabha.
Nityanand Rai is currently serving as the Minister of State for Home Affairs in Delhi. Before his stint with the Centre, Rai served as the BJP president for Bihar and is a four-time MLA from Hajipur.
The BJP, however, has sprung surprises before. It may be a lesser-known name, too.
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