Patna, March 8: Former Bihar Chief Minister and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Rabri Devi on Saturday said that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was forcibly sending Chief Minister Nitish Kumar to the Rajya Sabha adding that “he should not quit and leave Bihar.”
“The BJP is chasing Nitish Kumar out of Bihar. He has lost his mind. He should not quit the chief minister’s post under any circumstances. He should not leave Bihar,” Rabri told reporters at the Patna airport.
Arriving from Delhi along with RJD chief and her husband Lalu Prasad, she added that Nitish filing nomination for the Rajya Sabha was not a voluntary retirement, but a clever move by the BJP, which wanted to have the chief minister’s post.
“Nitish Kumar should remain the chief minister of Bihar,” Rabri Devi said, adding that any move to shift him to the Upper House would undermine the current political arrangement. Though Lalu did not respond to the questions of media persons, the remarks of Rabri, currently the Leader of Opposition in the Bihar Legislative Council, not only intensified the ongoing political upheaval in the state, but were also seen as RJD’s overtures to Nitish.
Nitish, 75, filed his nomination papers for the Rajya Sabha elections on Thursday. The poll for five seats in the state would be held on March 16. He also posted on the social media platform X that he was moving to the Centre, but would be available to guide his party, Janata Dal United (JDU).
A BJP chief minister is expected to succeed Nitish, though his son Nishant Kumar, 50, is going to formally join JDU on Sunday in an attempt to take over the mantle of the party.
The Opposition, including several leaders from the RJD and Congress, has already criticised the move and asserted that it was against the people’s mandate in the November 2025 Assembly elections. They have also alleged that the BJP always works to weaken its allies.
Incidentally, Nitish had quit the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) twice to form a government with the Opposition Mahagathbandhan of which the RJD has been an integral part. At present, the NDA has 202 seats in the 243-member Assembly. Among its constituents, the BJP won 89, JDU 85, Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) or LJP(R) 19, Hindustani Awam Morch (Secular) or HAM(S) grabbed five, and Rashtriya Lok Morch (RLM) got four.
The remaining 41 seats are with the Opposition, including 35 with the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) or Mahagathbandhan, five with AIMIM and one with the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP).
As per the numbers, Nitish, if he wishes to walk over to the Opposition camp again, could form a government. The RLM could also support him, taking the tally to 130 MLAs.
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