Patna, March 4 Bihar minister Vijay Kumar Chaudhary confirmed on Wednesday that Chief Minister Nitish Kumar was considering contesting the Rajya Sabha elections, a move that could effectively end the tenure of the state's longest-serving chief minister.
Chaudhary, the state parliamentary affairs minister, said that "discussions are ongoing" and that a final decision from Kumar, who has been ruling Bihar since 2005 and turned 75 last week, was awaited.
"Discussions are ongoing. Whatever decision needs to be made, it will be made by the chief minister," he said in the late evening.
Chaudhary was approached by a group of journalists on a day when the state was abuzz with speculation that the JD(U) supremo was going to cede the seat of power to ally BJP, in exchange for the Deputy CM's post for his son.
Notably, the filing of nomination papers for five Rajya Sabha seats in Bihar is set to conclude on Thursday.
The BJP has announced its candidates for two of these, one of them being national president Nitin Nabin, who is currently a member of the state legislative assembly. The party has also backed junior NDA partner Upendra Kushwaha, who heads the Rashtriya Lok Morcha, for a second consecutive term in the Rajya Sabha.
The JD(U), which holds two of the five seats, and is expected to retain these, has yet to announce its candidates, though speculation is rife that while Harivansh Narayan Singh, the Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha, will be denied a third consecutive term, Union minister Ram Nath Thakur, the son of Bharat Ratna Karpoori Thakur, will be allowed to do a hat-trick.
Chaudhary, who spent the day holding deliberations with Kumar and JD(U) national working president Sanjay Kumar Jha, however, did not confirm any of these speculations.
"All decisions within the party are made by the chief minister. Once he makes a decision, it will be conveyed to everyone," said the former state JD(U) president.
In response to a pointed question about Kumar's son Nishant, whose entry into politics was announced a day ago, Chaudhary said, "Nishant has always been a part of the JD(U). His joining the party would be a mere formality. A decision will be taken on the role to be assigned to the young leader."
As the news spread, a few young JD(U) workers rushed to the chief minister's residence, situated right across the road from the Governor's house, where they raised slogans in praise of Kumar and Nishant but voiced dissatisfaction over the likelihood of their leader giving up the seat of power.
"Nitish Kumar is a beloved leader of the people. If he is made to vacate his post as part of any design, it will result in a backlash. We warn such elements," one of the JD(U) supporters alleged.
Speculation is rife that the "proposal" to give up chief ministership and move to Delhi was conveyed to Kumar at the instance of the BJP, which is now the single-largest party in the state assembly, with 89 MLAs, as against 85 of JD(U).
Many political pundits have also been claiming that Kumar, who has been averse to "dynasty politics" all through his life, may have agreed to launch his son, who is now in his late 40s, as part of an "exit plan".
Meanwhile, BJP sources here were tight-lipped on whether they were eyeing the top post in the event of Kumar vacating his chair, insisting that a decision on this scale could be taken only by their top leadership in Delhi.
Nonetheless, reports in a section of the media named Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary and Union Minister of State Nityanand Rai, both former state BJP presidents, as "strong contenders".
