Union minister and Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) chief Chirag Paswan met Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar on Saturday and said his party was eager to “actively participate” in the state government as National Democratic Alliance (NDA) partners began internal discussions on government formation following the coalition’s landslide poll victory.
Chirag Paswan with Nitish Kumar in Patna on Saturday. (X/ChiragPaswan)
Paswan met Kumar at his official residence, with photos from the meeting providing the first public images of the 74-year-old Janata Dal (United), or JD(U), president since the election verdict on Friday.
“We are looking forward to joining the government. Earlier, we used to say that we supported the government but were not part of it, as we had no representation in the state legislature,” said Paswan, whose party won 19 of the 28 seats it contested.
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Before the elections, the 43-year-old had criticised the Kumar-led government over what he described as the “deteriorating law and order situation” in Bihar. On Saturday, however, he accused the opposition of spreading a “false narrative” about his relationship with Kumar while expressing support for the incumbent CM to continue in office. He declined to comment on whether the LJP(RV) will claim the deputy chief minister post, saying such decisions would be made collectively by NDA partners.
“It is for the legislators to decide who should be the next CM or the deputy CM. I personally feel that Nitish Kumar should continue to head the government,” he said.
The previous government had two deputy CMs, BJPs Samrat Choudhary and Vijay Kumar Sinha, both of whom won the polls from their respective seats convincingly. It’s not clear if this arrangement will continue in the new government.
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The NDA scored an overwhelming victory in Bihar on Friday as it swept India’s third-most populous state and decimated the Opposition’s Grand Alliance as it won 202 of the state’s 243 seats. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won 89 seats, followed by the JD(U) at 85.
Union minister and senior JD(U) leader Rajiv Ranjan ‘Lalan’ Singh and party’s working president Sanjay Jha met Union home minister Amit Shah in Delhi in the evening. Earlier in the day, Singh said that Kumar will continue as CM.
“There is no vacancy for the chief ministerial post. The people of Bihar have given an overwhelming mandate for development under Nitish Kumar’s leadership. The pace at which Bihar is progressing will continue, and this government will keep advancing the development agenda,” Singh said.
The 2025 elections were supposed to be a challenge for Kumar. He scraped through five years ago in the face of a resurgent Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD); popular disenchantment about jobs in India’s youngest state was peaking; and so were concerns about his indifferent health. Yet, an uncharacteristically muted campaign by Kumar was enough for the Janata Dal United (JD-U) to post its best performance since 2010 and propel the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) to the largest vote share ever secured by an alliance in Bihar.
The current Bihar assembly’s term ends on November 22, and the 18th assembly will be constituted on or before that date. As the first step in forming the new government, Kumar is expected to meet Governor Arif Mohammad Khan to submit his resignation and discuss the swearing-in schedule for the next term.
Senior NDA leaders in Bihar said the process of forming the government will gain momentum once all victorious MLAs, many of whom are still in their constituencies, arrive in Patna.
The BJP also convened a meeting of its top state leaders in Patna on Saturday.
“Our central leadership will soon finalise all decisions regarding government formation. Everything will be decided within the next two days,” Bihar BJP president Dilip Jaiswal said.
Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) or HAM(S)said it wants a cabinet that balances experience and youth. “It should be a blend of people with capability, a strong work culture, and education,” said party leader Santosh Suman, who previously served as a minister in Kumar’s cabinet.