Bihar is likely to get a new chief minister next week as Nitish Kumar shifts to the Rajya Sabha on April 10. He will travel to Delhi today and will take oath as a member of the Rajya Sabha on Friday, paving the way for a power transition in the state.
Sources said Nitish Kumar will return to Patna the same day after taking the oath, and a Bihar Cabinet meeting has been scheduled from April 13 to discuss his successor.
The chief minister is likely to tender his resignation the following day (April 14). On the same day, meetings of all alliance partners, as well as the NDA legislative party, are likely to be held to decide on the next course of action.
A new Bihar Chief Minister could take oath on April 15, with the swearing-in ceremony expected to be held at Gandhi Maidan in Patna.
Speculation is growing that Kumar’s son Nishant, who joined the JD(U) last month, could be accommodated in the new government, possibly as deputy chief minister.
Who could be next Bihar CM: A look at likely contenders
As Nitish Kumar prepares to move to a new role, the next government in Bihar is expected to be led by the BJP, the largest party in the state assembly. Several BJP leaders are being considered as potential chief minister candidates. Among them is Samrat Choudhary, the current deputy chief minister and MLA from Tarapur, who won his seat by defeating RJD’s Arun Kumar by a margin of 45,843 votes.
Nityanand Rai, the minister of state for home affairs and Lok Sabha MP from Ujiarpur, is also seen as a strong contender. Another name in the mix is Vijay Kumar Sinha, who has been serving as deputy chief minister alongside Choudhary and has represented the Lakhisarai constituency in the Bihar assembly since 2010.
Sanjeev Chaurasiya, an MLA from Digha, is also being discussed after securing a victory by 59,079 votes over CPI ML candidate Divya Gautam in the 2025 assembly elections. Nitish Mishra, who represents Jhanjharpur in Madhubani district and won by a margin of over 52,000 votes, is another possible candidate.
Dilip Jaiswal, a former Bihar BJP chief and three-time member of the legislative council, has also been mentioned among potential contenders. Senior leader Ram Kripal Yadav, currently serving as agriculture minister and a former MP from Pataliputra, is in consideration as well.
Janak Ram, a former minister for scheduled castes and scheduled tribes welfare and ex MP from Gopalganj, is also among the names being discussed as the state prepares for a leadership change.
Also read: PM Modi slams TMC over infiltration, unveils six key guarantees ahead of Bengal polls
