Nitish Kumar resigns from state legislative council: Who will be next Bihar CM?

The JD(U) president was elected to the upper House of Parliament on March 16

• Nitish Kumar to resign as Bihar MLC today after Rajya Sabha win
• Samrat Choudhary and Nityanand Rai lead race for Bihar CM post
• Kumar must step down as CM within 14 days of Rajya Sabha election

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Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, who was elected to the Rajya Sabha earlier this month, resigned from the state legislative council on Monday.

The JD(U) president was elected to the Upper House of Parliament on March 16, and according to party insiders, the 14-day period during which he had to quit as MLC ended Monday.

"It is stipulated in the Constitution that you should resign within 14 days. Things will happen accordingly," Sanjay Kumar Jha, the national working president of the JD(U), had told reporters here last week.

JD(U) leader and MLA Anant Kumar Singh, who met Nitish Kumar on Sunday, told media persons that the chief minister will tender his resignation as MLC on Monday.

Jha, however, had parried queries on when the 75-year-old JD(U) chief was expected to step down as chief minister

#WATCH | Patna: Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar resigns as Member of the Legislative Council (MLC) following his elections as a Member of the Rajya Sabha (MP). pic.twitter.com/kmoLHotWXE

— ANI (@ANI) March 30, 2026

According to rules, Kumar was required to resign as MLC and step down from the Chief Minister’s post within 14 days of being elected to Parliament. Today, 30 March, is the last day for him to resign.

Kumar’s political career is a masterclass in coalition manoeuvring, marked by a series of high-stakes ideological shifts. Beginning his journey as an MLA in 1985 and later serving as a Union Minister under the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government, he first rose to the post of Bihar Chief Minister in 2005 as a key pillar of the NDA.

With Nitish Kumar's resignation, all eyes are on the next chief minister of Bihar.

Who are in race?

Samrat Choudhary, one of Bihar’s two deputy chief ministers and leader of the BJP legislature party, is emerging as a frontrunner to replace Nitish Kumar. His prospects stem not only from his rapid rise within the party since joining in 2017, but also from his growing stature as a prominent face of the Kushwaha community, which accounts for over 4.27% of the population—second only to the Yadavs at more than 14.25%.

Meanwhile, Union minister Nityanand Rai is also being viewed as a potential contender. A long-time BJP leader, Rai has steadily grown in stature. However, his Yadav identity—a community traditionally aligned with the RJD—could be a double-edged sword. Supporters, though, see his possible elevation as an opportunity for the BJP to make inroads into this influential voter base.

According to reports, Digha MLA Sanjeev Chaurasia, whose father, Ganga Prasad Chaurasia, was one of the founders of the BJP in Bihar and a former Governor of Sikkim, is also in the race.