Bihar is buzzing with political activity with just hours to go before Nitish Kumar formally steps down, paving the way for a new government in the state after about 20 years at the helm (excluding a brief period in 2014-2015).
The Janata Dal (United) chief has, in that regard, convened his final cabinet meeting at 11 AM on Tuesday, after which a new government led by the Bharatiya Janata Party—another member of the NDA alliance in power in Bihar—is expected to be formed. It will also be the first time since the formation of the alliance that the BJP will be coming to power in the state.
Following the cabinet meeting, the state's longest-serving CM—who was elected to the Rajya Sabha last week—is expected to submit his resignation to Bihar's Governor Syed Ata Hasnain.
Despite the BJP keeping its lips sealed on Kumar's successor, Deputy CM Samrat Chaudhary has emerged as the frontrunner for the post, considering that he holds the all-important Home Ministry portfolio in the outgoing Bihar cabinet.
Nitish Kumar's son, Nishant, is also another important contender for the CM post, according to a recent opinion poll from Dainik Bhaskar, which had pitted the two with very close margins.
According to the opinion poll, 33.5 per cent of the responders were in favour of Chaudhary, 30 per cent for Nishant, and 33.3 per cent for other candidates.
However, a whopping 49.3 per cent have demanded a CM from the OBC category—both Nishant and Samrat Chaudhary belong here—as opposed to 24.2 per cent for an upper-caste CM, 14.4 per cent for an EBC CM, and 10.1 per cent for a leader from the Dalits.
Also, while 49.4 per cent wanted Nitish to continue as CM till 2030, as the BJP had declared during its election campaign, 50.6 per cent were in favour of a new CM face.
And so it is on the ground, where 25-30 posters of the outgoing CM have already been removed from the JD(U) office in Patna, as the state prepares for a major transition of power.
All 202 of the ruling alliance's MLAs have also been ordered to remain in Patna till Wednesday, as Nitish Kumar has already begun vacating his official residence at Circular Road, Patna.
To ensure the smooth conduct of the entire process, the BJP's top brass has appointed Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan as the central observer. Chouhan will arrive in the state on Tuesday, in addition to Nitin Nabin, both of whom will be part of the meeting that finalises the CM name.
PM Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah are expected to arrive by Tuesday evening, in time for the swearing-in ceremony for the next leader of Bihar's cabinet.
