Bihar Political Shift: Nitish Kumar To Resign Today, NDA Govt Likely Tomorrow Amid Talk Of ‘Surprises’

Bihar chief minister and JD(U) leader Nitish Kumar will step down on November 19 to enable the formation of a new NDA government, which is expected to take oath the following day at Patna’s Gandhi Maidan. Though no formal announcement has been made about his return as chief minister, statements from alliance leaders strongly indicate he will once again lead the government, with hints of unexpected additions in the upcoming cabinet.

The current Bihar assembly term ends on November 22, making this transition timely. The swearing-in ceremony on November 20 is planned as a grand national event with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other senior leaders in attendance.

Nitish Kumar met governor Arif Mohammad Khan on Monday to inform him of the cabinet’s recommendation to dissolve the outgoing assembly. JD(U) minister Vijay Kumar Chowdhary confirmed that Nitish will submit his resignation on November 19, beginning the formal process toward forming the next government.

Both BJP and JD(U) will hold key legislature party meetings on Wednesday to finalise leadership roles and discuss who may be chosen for the deputy chief minister position. Nitish is expected to first be elected JD(U) legislature party leader at 11 am, then NDA leader at 3:30 pm, before presenting his resignation and the alliance’s support letter to the governor.

A decision on appointing one or two deputy CMs is still pending. In the last government, Samrat Choudhary and Vijay Kumar Sinha held the posts. Internal discussions will weigh caste and gender representation, with JD(U) reportedly preferring a single deputy CM if the BJP takes the Speaker’s post.

Alliance insiders also suggest that the new cabinet may include some “surprise elements,” balancing youth and experience while maintaining social representation. A distribution formula of one minister for roughly every six MLAs is being considered. This could give RLM and HAM(S) one berth each, three positions to LJP(RV), and the remaining 30–31 to BJP and JD(U). Bihar’s 243-member assembly permits up to 36 ministers in total.

If Nitish Kumar takes oath again, it will mark his 10th term as chief minister—making him one of the state’s longest-serving leaders. The ceremony at Gandhi Maidan will be the fourth held there, except for the scaled-down 2020 event during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Negotiations continue between BJP and JD(U) over key portfolios, especially home and education, which were with JD(U) earlier.

The NDA recently secured a commanding victory in the assembly elections, winning 202 out of 243 seats. BJP secured 89, JD(U) 85, LJP(RV) 19, HAM(S) 5, and RLM 4, while the Mahagathbandhan was reduced to just 35 seats.