Overview
- Nitish Kumar, who was elected to the Rajya Sabha this month, resigned from the Bihar Legislative Council on Monday, a step that parties say clears the way for a new chief minister from the BJP-led alliance.
- BJP figures such as deputy chief minister Samrat Choudhary and Union minister Nityanand Rai are being discussed in reports as potential CM picks, with party leaders indicating the final choice will come from the central leadership.
- Allies and JD(U) leaders have cited a rule that lets a chief minister stay in office for up to six months without being a legislator, though NDA sources suggest any handover may wait until after April 14, when the inauspicious period of Kharmaas ends.
- Kerala’s campaign heated up after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Sunday rallies accused both the LDF and UDF of corruption and pitched a “Viksit Kerala,” while on Monday Rahul Gandhi pressed the Sabarimala gold theft issue and Congress leaders rolled out UDF ‘Indira Guarantees’ such as higher pensions and free bus travel for women.
- Formal nomination battles began elsewhere as well, with Tamil Nadu’s M. K. Stalin and actor-politician Vijay filing papers on Monday for the April 23 poll, and BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari filing for Nandigram in West Bengal as he also contests Bhawanipur ahead of the state’s April 23 and 29 voting.