JD(U) chief Nitish Kumar’s absence from the public eye despite the NDA’s landslide sweep in the Bihar Assembly elections 2025 has only set off a fresh wave of speculation, even as he quietly hosted a closed-door meeting with LJP(RV) leader Chirag Paswan on Saturday morning.
The meeting, visible only to those inside 1, Anne Marg, has reignited the question gripping Patna’s political circles -- Where is Nitish Kumar, and will he return as Bihar’s chief minister?
Paswan, whose LJP(RV) clinched an impressive 19-seat win, arrived with a delegation to congratulate Kumar on the alliance’s emphatic mandate. While he insisted the visit was merely a “courtesy call,” the timing, amid suspense over the CM post, has sent rumour mills buzzing that the young ally may be angling for a deputy chief minister’s berth as power-sharing negotiations gather pace.
In a remarkable show, the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) stormed to 202 seats in the 243-member Assembly, with the BJP emerging as the single largest party at 89 seats and the JD(U) close behind with 85. It should be mentioned here that Narendra Modi-led BJP’s numerical advantage has, once again, sharpened the debate over whether or not the party will choose to install its own chief minister, despite having projected the campaign under Kumar’s leadership.
Not just this.
Hours after the historic Bihar verdict, adding to the drama came a brief, quickly deleted post from JD(U)’s official handle on X declaring that “Nitish Kumar was, is, and will remain the Chief Minister of Bihar.” Its disappearance within minutes sparked intense chatter about Kumar’s future role, especially in the wake of the BJP’s dominant performance and its recent record of asserting leadership after outperforming allies.
On the other hand, for Kumar, serving his ninth term and long branded “Sushasan Babu,” the 2025 election was seen as a litmus test of both political stamina and personal health. The 74-year-old leader was never formally declared the NDA’s CM face during the campaign, even as the BJP secured an equal seat share in its alliance with the JD(U) for the first time.
Nevertheless, it is his silence, and more importantly, his absence, since the results were declared on the evening of November 14, that has set off the loudest buzz. The JD(U) chief has not appeared before cameras, issued a statement, or addressed party workers, except for a social media post on the microblogging site X.
For a politician known to move decisively after verdicts, the public vacuum is now the story.
Paswan’s outreach, meanwhile, adds another layer of suspense.
The two leaders, once bitter rivals, notably appeared aligned during polling in each other’s constituencies, a fact Paswan highlighted as proof of NDA unity. However, with the power matrix now shifting, political watchers see the meeting as a sign of the LJP(RV)’s attempts to secure a stronger foothold in the new order.
As backroom negotiations intensify, the big question remains unresolved: Will Nitish Kumar return for a record tenth term, or will the BJP take the top seat in the wake of its biggest Bihar victory yet?
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