Nitish Kumar Joining Rajya Sabha? His Party's Leaders Respond To Buzz

Nitish Kumar will continue to serve Bihar for his full term as Chief Minister and is not going anywhere, two senior leaders of the Janata Dal (United) said today, trashing speculation that Mr Kumar is eyeing a stint in Rajya Sabha.

Upendra Kushwaha, president of the JD(U)'s parliamentary board and Sanjay Kumar Jha, Bihar minister and JD(U) national general secretary, took to Twitter to trash the buzz around Mr Kumar moving to the upper house of Parliament.

In a tweet in Hindi, Mr Kushwaha said Mr Kumar has the mandate to serve the people of Bihar for the next five days and he is going nowhere. "He is and will remain the Chief Minister," Mr Kushwaha added. 

अरे भाई, आदरणीय नेता श्री नीतीश कुमार जी को फिलहाल पांच वर्षों के लिए बिहार की जनता की सेवा का जनादेश प्राप्त है। अर्थात, नीतीश जी कहीं नहीं जाने वाले हैं। मुख्यमंत्री हैं और रहेंगे..!

"I'm intrigued at the rumor that Hon CM Shri @NitishKumar is contemplating going to Rajya Sabha! This is mischievous, and far from truth. Shri Kumar has people's mandate to serve Bihar, and will continue to do so for the full term as Chief Minister. He is not going anywhere!" Mr Jha tweeted. 

I'm intrigued at the rumor that Hon CM Shri @NitishKumar is contemplating going to Rajya Sabha! This is mischievous, and far from truth.

Shri Kumar has people's mandate to serve Bihar, and will continue to do so for the full term as Chief Minister. He is not going anywhere!
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"Shri Nitish Kumar was the face of the NDA in 2020 Bihar Assembly elections, and people voted this alliance to power. His unwavering commitment to serve people & ability to transform #Bihar are sacrosanct. I urge all to desist from such propaganda, which shall yield little," he said in another tweet.

The buzz around Mr Kumar's possible entry into the Upper House of Parliament started after he said yesterday that he would like to go to Rajya Sabha someday.

During an informal chat with journalists, Mr Kumar, who has been Chief Minister for 16 years, was asked whether he was considering running for parliament from Nalanda - he has been touring the now abolished Lok Sabha constituency of Barh, which he won five times.

"No chance," said the Chief Minister. But when asked whether he would like to be a member of the Rajya Sabha, he said: "I won't mind going to the Rajya Sabha but for now, I have the responsibilities of Chief Minister. I have been Chief Minister for over 16 years, so I don't know..."

While Mr Kumar clarified that he has no intentions of going anywhere, JD(U) leaders feel that his remarks sparked a huge buzz. The comments by the Chief Minister, who is navigating a not so smooth alliance with the BJP in Bihar, were followed by several BJP legislators publicly demanding that he should step aside now and make way for a new Chief Minister.

One section of Bihar NDA leaders said Mr Kumar has either already been sounded out about a coveted job in Delhi or that he has tossed an idea to the BJP leadership that he would be willing to consider a shift to the capital, but for something substantial.

The fresh buzz also comes against the ongoing speculation about Nitish Kumar being named as the next Vice-President.

An entry into the Upper House for Nitish Kumar would mean matching the record of two contemporaries - Lalu Yadav and Sushil Modi - who have been members of all houses of parliament and the assembly.

Mr Kumar has so far been a member of the Bihar assembly, legislative council and Lok Sabha.

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