'Betrayal of mandate': Political opponents slam Nitish's RS move

Patna/New Delhi/Ranchi, Mar 5 (PTI) Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's decision to enter the Rajya Sabha drew sharp criticism from his political opponents on Thursday, with the RJD and the Congress leading the charge against what they said was a "betrayal" of the people's mandate orchestrated by the BJP.

RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav, leader of the opposition in the state assembly, alleged that the BJP had always been opposed to Dalits and OBCs, and with Kumar leaving the CM's post the party would attempt to implement its agenda in the socialist stronghold.

"The BJP has done a Maharashtra in Bihar. We have been saying from the very beginning that the BJP will not let Nitish Kumar remain the chief minister after the elections. This is exactly what has happened. This development is against the mandate of the people and amounts to a betrayal of it," he said.

With Kumar stepping down after leading the ruling NDA to a landslide victory in the 2025 assembly elections, Bihar is set to get its first BJP chief minister. It is the only Hindi heartland state where the party has not held the office so far.

Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said, "What the Indian National Congress had been saying often during the Bihar election campaign has now come to pass." "A leadership coup and regime change orchestrated by G2 has taken place. It is, in many ways, a huge betrayal of the mandate of the people," Ramesh said on X.

Alleging that the BJP had "hijacked" Kumar, Yadav said that was the reason the veteran leader was moving to the Rajya Sabha. "BJP is against OBCs and Dalits. They never want a leader from these communities to occupy the top post. They want a chief minister who will function like a rubber stamp for the top BJP leadership," he alleged.

"I had said 'Nitish ji ko ghoda toh chadhaya hai dulha banake, lekin phera kisi aur ke saath dila raha hai' (They made Nitish Kumar mount the horse as the groom, but are getting someone else to take the wedding vows)," he said.

Congress leader Sachin Pilot said the decision might have been made under pressure.

"I do not understand why you (Nitish Kumar) contested the elections, sought the support of the people, and won their votes. Now you are withdrawing. Who is pressuring you to do this? Are you acting of your own free will, or is this a reluctant decision? It's unclear," Pilot said.

He pointed out that Nitish Kumar had a history of frequently changing his political stance.

"Nitish ji has changed his mind many times before. Now, there are rumours that he is heading to Delhi (Rajya Sabha). What will happen in Bihar now? Will the BJP exert pressure and take control?" he asked.

"If Nitish Kumar had announced his intention to join the Rajya Sabha earlier, the results of the assembly elections could have been different," he added.

Nitish Kumar and BJP president Nitin Nabin were among five NDA candidates who filed their nominations for the Rajya Sabha polls on Thursday. The other NDA candidates who filed their nominations included BJP state general secretary in Bihar, Shivesh Kumar, the JD(U)'s Ram Nath Thakur, and the RLM's Upendra Kushwaha.

Rashtriya Janata Dal MP Manoj Jha said the post the JD(U) leader shared on X appeared to be drafted in the “Delhi Durbar”, referring to the government at the Centre. Jha, a Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) Rajya Sabha MP, said the people of Bihar would reply to Nitish Kumar’s move.

“After reading that tweet, I can confidently say that he did not write it. The post has been prepared in Delhi. Even if you ask a 10-year-old in Bihar about the tweet, they will point at the Delhi Durbar,” Jha told PTI Videos.

Core supporters of the JD(U) were “feeling hurt” by the move, the RJD leader said.

“I had said earlier as well, this is not the end. The core supporters of JD(U) are feeling hurt by this decision. They have improvised the ‘Shinde Model’... But Bihar is different," Jha said.

Jharkhand’s lone JD(U) MLA Saryu Roy claimed that Nitish Kumar’s foray into the Rajya Sabha was a “planned design” to sideline him from the CM’s post.

“A major change has occurred today in Bihar's politics. Nitish Kumar, who has been the chief minister since 2005, has done a lot of work for the state and brought good governance. The manner in which a person like him was sidelined from the CM’s post for the Rajya Sabha, it appears that he is being sent to a shelter. This method does not seem appropriate,” Roy said. PTI PKD SOM ASK DV SAN RBT SDA AO ARI SAP SAP