Bihar assembly election 2025: In less than a month, Bihar will have a fresh assembly of 243 MLAs, and may have a new chief Minister after the long reign of incumbent Nitish Kumar. In NDA, JD(U) has consistently said Nitish Kumar will become the CM if they win Bihar election. And several BJP leaders have seconded it.
As for the Mahagathbandhan, Tejashwi Yadav is the de-facto face. And there are reasons to it. His party, the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) is the biggest constituent of the INDIA alliance. This is also clear from its list of 143 candidates in the 243-seat assembly. Congress has backed him as well.
But yet, until the name is announced, nothing is confirmed in the arena of politics. Nitish Kumar and Tejashwi Yadav are not the only two Chief Minister contenders in the state. There are others as well, who have positioned themselves for the top post, sparking discussions.
Bihar CM contenders
Nitish Kumar – The obvious choice for many
The first and most obvious name on the list is that of Nitish Kumar. He has been the chief Minister of the state since 2005, with a brief interval of nine months in 2014 when he resigned taking moral responsibility for JD(U)’s dreadful performance in Lok Sabha elections.
His relevance in Bihar can be understood from the fact that despite having fewer seats than the BJP in the 2020 assembly elections, the NDA alliance made him the CM, while Nitish Kumar said he didn’t wish to be the Chief Minister.
At present also, if the NDA makes him the CM, it won’t be a shock for anyone and it seems the alliance may have discussed the matter during seat-distribution to end even the slightest possibility of a rift in the future.
On Monday, even the Congress said the party would give due respect to CM Nitish, claiming that BJP and Chirag Paswan are plotting to oust him.
Tejashwi Yadav – Young leader driving entire opposition
In Bihar, it is RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav who is leading the entire opposition, and the mega alliance of Mahagathbandhan does not have a stronger face to him. Many see him as a change, while several, as NDA says – the re-dawn of his father Lalu Yadav’s ‘jungle raaj’.
Tejashwi has also been the key opposition leader to question the Nitish Kumar government on issues and policies, and the man to take the agenda of Mahagathbandhan forward, along with Rahul Gandhi.
If the INDIA coalition manages a majority or near‐majority, he could be the choice – given his party performs extremely well which is crucial to the opposition’s victory.
Prashant Kishore – Will kingmaker be the king?
Known to have handled the camps of many politicians, including Nitish Kumar, Prashant Kishor is the third most-talked about face in Bihar politics. For months, he has campaigned in the state for an emerging third front as he stressed on alleged controversies, corruptions of the Nitish government to attack the NDA, and equally pulled up the RJD-Congress.
His party, Jan Suraaj, is contesting the polls all alone. Kishor is not contesting elections, but he is campaigning aggressively. Once a strategist, and now a politician – Prashant Kishor might be holding on to several of his cards until the elections end.
A fresh face with a new narrative, Kishor may struggle to win the polls alone, but any side can take advantage of his share by making him the key player.
In case he becomes the CM, Kishor will have to get elected to any one seat in the state within six months of his appointment, else he will have to resign.
Samrat Choudhary – The firebrand BJP leader
When it comes to BJP, no one can remain sure of anything, especially when the saffron party has to choose the Chief Minister. BJP is known to throw surprises in decisions, and Samrat Choudhary could be the surprise for many.
Currently the Deputy Chief Minister from the BJP in Bihar, Choudhary is gaining prominence ahead of the elections. He is, again, a fresh leadership face with experience of working with the alliance.
Chirag Paswan – From Union Minister to CM?
Union Minister Chirag Paswan is a leading name in the politics of Bihar, with a history of feud against the JD(U). Back in 2020, his party contest elections alone in Bihar on 137 seats. Then, he was against the JD(u), but called himself the ‘hanuman’ of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Paswan’s party LJP (RV) could win only one seat then. This time, under the NDA bloc, his party is contesting election on 29 seats – which was decided after multiple huddles and reports of displeasure.
He has been a contender to the CM post and a challenger to Nitish Kumar. While the BJP is trying to make them walk the same road together, Paswan could also be a surprise pick by the NDA.
Upendra Kushwaha – Can RLM chief be the CM?
Rashtirya Lok Morcha (RLM) chief Upendra Kushwaha is another contender for Bihar CM’s post. Though he said if the NDA wins, Nitish would be the face, but often discussions bring a surprise CM.
Despite the fact that his party has only 6 seats to contest, every constituency is important for the alliance – it doesn’t matter which party has more or less seats. Kushwaha has served as an MP twice – Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. He was part of the Union Cabinet in 2014, and Bihar assembly member from 2000-2005.
A crucial name in Bihar politics, Kushwaha holds the key to Kushwahas, a section that all are eyeing. So, if the NDA chooses him to lead the state – it should not come as a surprise as the BJP-led NDA has had this habit of pulling veteran party workers to top.
And there are multiple cases to prove this – Rajasthan (Bhajan Lal Sharma), Madhya Pradesh (Mohan Yadav), Odisha (Mohan Charan Majhi) and the latest being in Delhi where the saffron party made Rekha Gupta the CM.