Bihar Election 2020: Nitish Kumar will be CM, say BJP leaders; but party keeps future options open

Nitish Kumar is set to be the Chief Minister of Bihar again.

Even as the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) managed to return to power in Bihar after a nail-biting counting that went late into the night, leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), one half of the NDA in Bihar, assured that Janata Dal (United) supremo Nitish Kumar will return as the chief minister.

According to reports, home minister and senior BJP leader Amit Shah also put in a "congratulatory" call to Kumar at a time when the results were still trickling in. Even before the polls and during the campaigning, BJP leaders have stated that irrespective of the seats and which party performs better, Kumar will be back in the CM seat--- perhaps for the last time, according to Kumar himself. 

But, according to an Indian Express report, JD(U)'s slip in performance in the election, securing 43 seats, has not been lost on anyone within the BJP.

According to a senior BJP leader, one of the options that the BJP is looking at is to offer Kumar the CM's post while keeping future options open at the same time. "There may be a review of this decision after six months to one year," the senior leader said.

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Another BJP leader, Sanjay Paswan, told the newspaper that the Bihar polls are a victory "for the BJP and Prime Minister Modi".

"But as per our promises, we are committed to offer the chief minister’s post to Nitish Kumar. It’s up to the morality of Nitish Kumar to decide what to do," Paswan said.

According to the report, there is a sense within the top leadership of the BJP that anger against Nitish Kumar was fairly visible during the campaigning phase, and it should not be ignored.

Also Read: 5 things you should know about the verdict

The result has also brought another aspect of government formation to the fore: the Cabinet arrangement. According to the report, the BJP's performance will mean more Cabinet berths for BJP leaders and important portfolios.

"The Cabinet and government formation will naturally have to be in proportion to the number of seats each party holds," one leader said, while another added that government formation will be on "mutually agreed formula".