"Nitish Kumar should not leave Bihar": Rabri Devi on his Rajya Sabha move

Patna (Bihar) [India], March 7 (ANI): Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Rabri Devi on Saturday alleged that the BJP is pushing Nitish Kumar out of Bihar, and he should not leave after he filed his nomination for the Rajya Sabha elections.
She said that this is not a voluntary "retirement" but a strategic push by the BJP, suggesting that the BJP (the senior partner in the NDA following the 2025 landslide victory) now wants the CM post for itself.
"The BJP is driving Nitish Kumar out of Bihar. He has lost his mind. Nitish Kumar should not leave Bihar," she said.
Her remarks come amid a major political shift in Bihar after Nitish Kumar filed his nomination for the Rajya Sabha in Patna on Thursday in the presence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah. Along with Kumar, other National Democratic Alliance (NDA) candidates, including Upendra Kushwaha and Bihar BJP chief Nitin Nabin, also submitted their nominations earlier.
Nitish Kumar, who has served as Bihar's longest-tenured Chief Minister for over two decades, earlier announced that he would be heading to the Rajya Sabha and would file his nomination in the current election cycle. The 75-year-old also said that the new Cabinet would have his full support.
"I seek to become a member of the Rajya Sabha in the elections being held this time. I want to assure you with complete honesty that my relationship with you will continue in the future as well, and my resolve to work together with you to build a developed Bihar will remain steadfast. The new government that will be formed will have my full cooperation and guidance," Nitish Kumar posted on X.
The polling for the upcoming biennial elections to the Council of States (Rajya Sabha) to fill the 37 seats across 10 states is scheduled to take place on March 16, with the counting of votes on the same day at 5 pm.
According to the press note, the term of 37 members who were elected from Maharashtra, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, and Telangana will conclude in the month of April, vacating the seats for new members to be elected.
Meanwhile, the political transition also appears to be triggering a generational shift within the JD(U). Nishant Kumar, the son of Nitish Kumar, is set to formally join the party on Sunday. He held a meeting with senior party leaders and young MLAs at the residence of JD(U) National Working President Sanjay Kumar Jha on Saturday.
JD(U) leaders today discussed the party's future strategy and how to best move forward after party chief Nitish Kumar, in a historic move, is set to move back to the Centre with a seat in the Rajya Sabha.
While Nishant has lived a low-profile life as a software engineer (BIT Mesra alumnus), there is intense speculation that he may be appointed as a Deputy Chief Minister in a new NDA government, or potentially take a leadership role within the party amid a vacuum, as now both Nitish and Sanjay Jha will represent JD(U) in the Upper House of Parliament. (ANI)