Nitish Kumar's Rajya Sabha Move Sparks Speculation About His Motivations

Patna: Even as the JD (U) leaders and workers continued their protest on Friday and put up a poster at the party office on the Beer Chand Patel Marg, urging Nitish to reconsider his decision to go to the Rajya Sabha, one pertinent question is haunting everyone: Why Nitish Kumar agreed to relinquish the powerful CM’s post and opt for a less lucrative Rajya Sabha membership? ANYTIME, ANYWHERE. Experience a more refined e-paper today READ NOW ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT High-level sources within the Janata Dal-United aver that since last one year there was immense pressure on Nitish to draft his son Nishant Kumar in the party and get him involved in active politics. However, Nitish consistently dismissed this suggestion by his aides and argued that he had spent his entire life opposing ‘Parivar-vad’ (dynasty) where leaders like Lalu Prasad and others promote their family, particularly their sons and daughters. “How will I face the people if I too rope in my son and promote dynasty in our party,” he would argue before dismissing the suggestion to draft in Nishant in the JD (U). But this was till January 2026. Also Read:Angry at Nitish's Rajya Sabha move, JD(U) workers break plates, vandalise party office in Patna Also Read:Angry at Nitish's Rajya Sabha move, JD(U) workers break plates, vandalise party office in Patna Last month, a fresh attempt was made by senior leaders close to Nitish to rope in Nishant, an engineering graduate from BIT, Mesra in Ranchi, in active politics. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links Stories You May Like Karnataka Police reform: M A Saleem ends colonial-era orderly system Undo Case against 5 men for playin g Holi by wearing burqa in Karnataka's Kalaburagi Undo 'Lacked required numbers': Sanjay Raut explains why Priyanka Chaturvedi was... Undo Born in 1975, Nishant is a bachelor and speaks very little other than highlighting what his father has done to put Bihar on the fast track of development in the last 25 years and ensuring the rule of law in a state which was notorious for its lawlessness in the 90s. On March 1, when Nishant offered his father a slice of a cake on the occasion of Nitish’s 75th birthday, the demand to rope in Nishant in active politics gained further momentum, with some even suggesting the rookie politician be made a Rajya Sabha member. This proposal was shot down by Nitish as he has been a stickler of norms and never favours a newbie like Nishant to be a member of Upper House. Nitish’s son Nishant too expressed his desire that if at all, he would join active politics, he would like to start it from Bihar itself and not New Delhi. It was then that Nitish relented with a condition that if Nishant was to join active politics in Bihar, he (Nitish) would shift to Centre. This took even his closest aides by surprise and they made every effort to persuade the Bihar CM to rethink his decision to go to the Rajya Sabha. But Nitish remained unmoved. His aides held confabulations with the top BJP leadership in Delhi. On the day of Holi, on March 4, when the entire country was busy celebrating the festival of colours, came the news that Nitish was preparing to “change colours.” His supporters, when informed, were utterly shocked. They took to streets, squatted on the roads and urged Nitish to reconsider his decision to go to the Rajya Sabha, but Nitish remained firm. “I have given my word to the BJP,” is all he told his supporters. The rest, as they say, is history. ADVERTISEMENT Published 06 March 2026, 12:30 IST India News Nitish Kumar Bihar Indian politcs Follow us on : Follow Us Read More