Nitish Kumar Likely To Resign Today: A Look At Top Contenders For Bihar CM

Last Updated:March 30, 2026, 10:50 IST

Nitish Kumar to resign as Bihar CM after Rajya Sabha win; BJP likely to lead with contenders Samrat Choudhary, Nityanand Rai, Sanjeev Chaurasia and others.

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar is likely to resign from the state legislative council today, weeks after his election to the Rajya Sabha earlier this month, sources said.

The development comes four months after he was sworn in for a record 10th term as Bihar Chief Minister following the NDA’s landslide victory in the Assembly polls, held last year.

Who Will Replace Nitish Kumar As Bihar CM?

As Nitish Kumar will step down from the state’s top political position to move to the Upper House of Parliament, speculations over the next chief ministerial candidate of Bihar being from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) are doing the rounds in the political circles of the state.

Sources say the next Bihar Chief Minister is likely to be from the BJP, as it emerged as the single largest party in the Assembly with 89 seats in the 243-seat Assembly, with the JDU registering its win over 85 seats.

Contenders For Bihar CM

If reports are to be believed, the BJP could lead the next government in Bihar, with the JD(U) expected to receive two Deputy Chief Ministers as part of a power-sharing arrangement.

Nitish Kumar’s son Nishant Kumar

Speculation is rife that Nitish Kumar’s son Nishant Kumar, who has long stayed away from the limelight, is expected to make his political debut and might be the next probable candidate for Bihar’s Deputy Chief Minister’s post.

Bihar Deputy CM Samrat Choudhary

Samrat Choudhary, who is a top prospect among the BJP leaders vying to succeed Nitish Kumar as Chief Minister of the State. This month he met Union Home Minister Amit Shah in poll-bound West Bengal to discuss Bihar politics.

Union Minister Nityanand Rai

According to sources, Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai is said to be close to Union Home Minister Amit Shah. Rai hails from the dominant OBC Yadav caste and is believed to be able to dent the Opposition RJD’s key vote bank.

Digha MLA Sanjeev Chaurasia

Another contender is 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.

Other Candidates

Names of other leaders doing the rounds in political circles include Janak Ram, Bihar Minister for SC/ST Welfare, who belongs to a backward class (EBC) and Dalit community in Gopalganj.

Another person on the list is Bihar Industries Minister Dilip Jaiswal, a former State BJP president who belongs to the Vaishya community and hails from the border district of Kishanganj.

Parihar MLA Gayatri Devi, who is a Yadav, and upper-caste party leaders Nitish Mishra and Mangal Pandey are also among the frontrunners for the CM post.

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