BJP finished Nitish Kumar: Tejashwi Yadav while congratulating CM Samrat Choudhary

In a sharp attack on the ruling alliance in Bihar, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav on Friday alleged that the BJP had effectively "finished off" former chief minister Nitish Kumar politically by forcing him to relinquish a post he held for nearly two decades. Yadav made the remarks in the state Assembly during a special session convened for the floor test of the new government led by BJP’s Samrat Choudhary.

Speaking as Leader of the Opposition, Yadav, deputy chief minister in the previous Nitish Kumar government, congratulated Choudhary on assuming the CM’s office but laced his remarks with criticism of both the BJP and its ally, the Janata Dal (United) [JD(U)].

"We knew that the BJP would not let Nitish Kumar remain the CM. The BJP kept saying that Nitish would be the NDA's leader till 2030. But now they have finished him off," he said.

He added that Bihar’s political landscape had become unstable, noting, "Any state needs political stability. But Bihar is peculiar. It has seen five governments in five years".

Yadav reiterated that his party had anticipated the transition. "During the elections, we saw JDU leaders saying Nitish Kumar will be elected again in the 2025-2030 term. But we had already said that the BJP would not allow Nitish Kumar to remain in the chief minister's chair, and that is what happened. Nitish Kumar has now been finished," he said.

The RJD leader also took a swipe at the manner in which leadership changed hands. "An elected chief minister was removed by a selected chief minister".

Tejashwi Yadav also reminded the House of the days when Samrat Choudhary was with the RJD.

"I am glad for Samrat Choudhary, who is a pupil of (RJD supremo) Lalu Prasad. But he must beware of those with deep roots in the BJP and the RSS who resent his rise," alleged Yadav.

He further cautioned Choudhary about internal dynamics within the BJP, suggesting that some in the party and its ideological affiliate, the RSS, may not welcome his rise.

In a lighter but pointed remark, Yadav referenced a past speech by Choudhary’s father, saying, "Shakuni Choudhary had threatened to bury Narendra Modi alive. That seems to have scared the BJP's top leadership, which has sought to pacify him by making his son the chief minister".

The remarks triggered protests from treasury benches, leading to brief disruptions in the House.

Responding to the criticism, Choudhary rejected Yadav’s claims and said, "I don't come from any school. Lalu Yadav sent me to jail".

He asserted that power was not anyone’s entitlement and credited the BJP and the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) for his elevation.

RECIPROCATED TO BJP’S GESTURE: JDU

The political exchange comes a day after the JD(U) clarified that it had ceded the chief minister’s post to the BJP as a gesture of reciprocity.

Senior party leader Vijay Kumar Chaudhary said the BJP had supported the JD(U) in 2020 when its electoral strength had weakened, and the current arrangement reflected that partnership.

He also emphasised that the new government had Nitish Kumar’s backing and would follow his governance model.

Yadav, however, continued his criticism outside the House as well, alleging that the NDA government lacked direction and had failed to initiate meaningful governance measures in recent months.

He accused the leadership of prioritising politics over development and questioned the state’s administrative functioning.

The floor test, widely expected to be a formality given the NDA’s majority, marks a significant shift in Bihar’s power structure, with the BJP taking the chief minister’s post for the first time in the state.

As the new government settles in, the sharp political rhetoric signals that confrontations between the opposition and the ruling alliance are likely to intensify in the coming months.

- Ends