Nitish Kumar was chosen as the leader of the JD(U) legislature party during a meeting of the party’s newly elected MLAs on Wednesday, Bihar minister Shrawon Kumar revealed. This comes ahead of the formation of Bihar’s new government under Nitish’s leadership on November 20.
He is expected to take oath as Bihar Chief Minister for the 10th time at Patna’s historic Gandhi Maidan on Thursday. According to JD(U) working national president Sanjay Jha, Nitish will first be elected as the JD(U)’s legislature party leader and then officially named the NDA’s leader in a meeting of the five-party alliance.
Jha said that after his selection as the JD(U) legislature party chief, MLAs from all NDA partners will choose him as their alliance leader. Party leaders said Nitish is expected to meet Governor Arif Mohammad Khan in the evening to request the start of the government formation process.
He will also step down as head of the outgoing government and hand over letters of support from all NDA partners to the Governor, they added. The current Assembly will be dissolved on Wednesday.
Who will be the Deputy CM?
According to a report by Prabhat Khabar, Samrat Choudhary is once again seen as the frontrunner in the race for Deputy Chief Minister. He may also be made the leader of the BJP legislature party. On the other hand, with expectations that the Deputy CM post may go to an upper-caste leader, as per Jansatta, names like Nitish Mishra, Nitin Navin, and Mangal Pandey are also being discussed.
From a caste-equation point of view, these leaders are considered strong contenders. However, the BJP’s history shows that the party has often taken decisions that go beyond caste considerations. It is also important to note that after Sushil Modi, no leader has been repeatedly made Deputy CM. Usually, the face is changed after one term.
Who will be the Speaker?
For the Speaker’s post, names like Prem Kumar and Ram Kripal Yadav are being considered, a report by Jansatta said. The report added that as an experimental choice, Sanjeev Chaurasia, a first-time MLA from Digha, could also be appointed Speaker. For now, nothing is completely clear and several names are in the race. Only in the coming days will it be known who gets which department in the Nitish government and who will take the Deputy Chief Minister’s chair.