• Source:JND
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Although almost 8 months are remaining for Bihar Assembly elections, all the political parties have started their campaigns and have started announcing their schemes for the poll-bound state. Among several allegations and promises, one of the most asked questions remains: will the NDA alliance announce Nitish Kumar as their chief minister face or not?

Although Nitish is still the front runner for the post, the BJP leaders are hesitant to announce the same. While the saffron leaders are saying that the election will be contested under the guidance of the veteran JDU leader, they are skeptical when asked if he will be the CM candidate.

Bihar BJP chief Dileep Jaiswal on Friday stated that while the ruling alliance will fight the election under the leadership of Nitish Kumar, the CM face will be decided by the parliamentary board.

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Why Is BJP Skeptical About Nitish Kumar?

While Nitish Kumar remains one of the most experienced politicians of Bihar with no major allegations of corruption charges, he carries a factor of anti-incumbency with him. Nitish Kumar has been the Chief Minister of Bihar (except for a few months) since 2005; however, his party, JD(U), had witnessed a major decline in the number of seats and vote percentage in the last Assembly elections.

The saffron leaders are reportedly not confident of contesting on a "tired" CM face. Apart from this, Nitish Kumar's credibility as an alliance partner is also under a scanner as he has switched sides four times since 2014. He also formed the government in Bihar twice with archrival Lalu Yadav's RJD and Congress.

Although Kumar has promised that he will no longer switch sides and NDA is his "home," the saffron party leaders are in no mood to take him for granted. The opposition leaders in recent times have also raised questions on his health, mentioning the chief minister is not active in public life like he was earlier.

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“There is no government in Bihar and he (Nitish Kumar) is no longer in his senses. Be it Chirag Paswan, Jitan Ram Manjhi and both Deputy Chief Ministers of Bharatiya Janata Party Samrat Choudhary and Vijay Kumar Sinha. They all used to say that the mental condition of Nitish Kumar was not good. Now, the time has come to discuss whether there is a government in Bihar or not,” Tejashwi Yadav had stated in December 2024.

NITISHKUMARJI

IMAGE CREDIT: ANI

What Is Ahead For Nitish Kumar?

Although BJP leaders are not announcing Nitish Kumar as the chief minister candidate, Nitish Kumar's party leaders are confident that the alliance will emerge victorious in the upcoming polls and Kumar will again become the chief minister. The party had also set up hoardings across the capital city, Patna, stating that there is no vacancy for the CM post in the state.

Apart from this, Kumar's son Nishant Kumar, in his rare appearance in front of media, urged the voters to vote for his father for all the work he has done. Apart from this, he also asked the alliance leaders to announce Kumar as the chief minister candidate for the upcoming polls.

"The best thing about my father is that he works for the people selflessly. Even when he won over 100 seats in 2010, he worked hard. In 2020, when he won only 42 seats, he continued to work for the people. The public should make him CM again by giving him more seats so he can continue to develop Bihar," Nishant Kumar stated.

The election in Bihar is expected to be held in the later months of this year. While the NDA will try to continue the government in the state, the INDIA alliance will try to make a comeback after two decades. The Jan Suraj of Prashant Kishore is also contesting this time, making the election tougher for both the alliances.