Amid speculations over who will be the two leaders of Bihar’s ruling NDA alliance, Janata Dal United, which will fall vacant on April 9 and nomination papers may be filed in Rajya Sabha on March 5, senior JD-U leader Shrawan Kumar on Tuesday said Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s son Nishant Kumar will soon enter active politics.

Earlier, the coalition partner BJP had announced the names of party president Nitin Navin and party president Shivesh Kumar as the two leaders for the Rajya Sabha seat.

Of the total 16 seats in Bihar’s Rajya Sabha, five seats are vacant as of April 9. Two members are from JD-U, Harivansh Narayan Singh, who is also Rajya Sabha vice president, Union Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister Ram Nath Thakur, son of late Bihar chief minister and veteran socialist leader Bharat Ratna Karpoori Thakur, and another Rashtriya ally. Lok Morcha (RLM) Secretary Upendra Kushwaha. The opposition Rashtriya Janata Dal, Prem Chand Gupta and Amarendra Dhali Singh.

March 5th is the last day to withdraw names from the race, and the election will be held on March 16th. The ruling NDA, which has 202 MLAs, could easily win four seats in the 243-member state assembly, while the NDA and the opposition Mahagathbandhan have announced that they will contest for the fifth seat, sparking speculation.

From the JD-U party, which has 85 MLAs, Nishant Kumar and union minister Ram Nath Thakur are likely to be nominated. RLM chief Upendra Kushwaha’s name is also likely to be mentioned as the fifth candidate from the NDA side. JD-U may remove Harivansh Narayan Singh from its list of leadership candidates this time.

“We would like to inform you on the occasion of Holi (Festival of Colors) that Mr. Nishan ji will soon take part in active politics. The wishes of the people and youth of the state who have been hinting and demanding his political participation will now be fulfilled,” senior JD-U leader and Rural Development Minister in Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s cabinet Shrawan Kumar told mediapersons on March 3.

Kumar is considered to be close to Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and has served several terms as a party MLA from CM Nitish Kumar’s home constituency, Nalanda. Mr. Shrawan Kumar further extended warm wishes to Mr. Nishant Kumar for a bright future and success in politics, but did not reveal how he (Mr. Nishant Kumar) would take part in active political activities. “Our party leaders will decide how he participates in politics…He has some potential in this field. He is young and our leaders will take decisions based on the demands of the people,” the minister further said.

Earlier, JD-U leaders Sanjay Jha (current president), Ashok Chaudhary (rural minister in Nitish Kumar’s cabinet) and others had publicly demanded that Nishant Kumar enter active politics.

Posters requesting Nishant Kumar to take active part in politics had also been displayed on the walls of the JD-U state headquarters in Patna for some time now. “Nishant Kumar is educated and studied engineering. The party rank and file wants him to take part in active political activities and the announcement will make the entire JD-U family happy,” Chaudhary said.

Alliance partner BJP has also welcomed the JD-U’s decision to take Nishant Kumar into active politics. “We are happy with this decision and welcome Nishant Kumar’s active participation in politics. We wish him luck and will support him in his endeavours,” said Dilip Kumar Jaiswal, senior BJP leader and state industries minister. Jaiswal is also a former national president of the Bharatiya Janata Party.

In the 2025 state assembly elections, the NDA won 202 seats, the opposition Rashtriya Janata Dal won 25 seats, the Congress won 6 seats, the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) 2 seats, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) 1 seat, the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen Party (AIMIM) 5 seats, the Bahujan Samaj Party 1 seat, and the India Inclusive Party led by IP Gupta.

In the state assembly, which has a total of 243 members, a candidate needs the support of 41 MLAs to win a Rajya Sabha seat. The NDA needs the support of three more MLAs and the opposition RJD needs the support of six MPs to win five seats.