After posting that Nitish Kumar will remain Bihar chief minister, his party, Janata Dal (United) has deleted the X post, sparking speculations about who will helm the upcoming NDA government.
This comes as BJP has become the single largest party with lead or victories in 92 seats while JDU was ahead in 83 constituencies.
The JDU post began with the Sanskrit verse "Na bhuto na bhavishyati", which translates to "neither in the past nor in the future." Then it continued in Hindi, reading, "Nitish Kumar Bihar ke mukhymantri te, hain or rahenge. (Nitish Kumar was, is and will remain the Chief Minister of Bihar)."
The BJP, ahead of the elections, announced that the NDA was fighting the polls under Nitish Kumar's leadership. However, it has not officially declared him as their CM face. "Nitish will lead our election campaign. The elected MLAs of the coalition partners will first elect their respective party leaders, who will then sit together and decide as to who will head the next government," Union Home Minister Amit Shah said ahead of the campaign.
Amid Nitish's health concerns and decline in his appeal has already triggered rumours that this would be the JDU supremo's final election. However, JDU cadre are still hopeful that Nitish, 75, will return as CM. Party workers on Friday gathered in front of his residence, holding posters with the caption "Tiger Abhi Zinda Hai".
Nitish has remained Bihar CM for most of the last 20 years, not just during NDA rule but also when Mahagathbandhan alliance was in power.