With the NDA's landslide victory in the Bihar Assembly elections, and the BJP bagging 89 seats, four more than the JD(U)'s 85, the question of having Nitish Kumar as the next Chief Minister again has started hovering around. Suspense has increased further with the BJP leaders maintaining a stoic silence on the issue.

During the election campaign, the supposed fragile health of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar was used as an issue by the opposition to create suspense over whether the BJP would make him CM again.

The issue has intensified with BJP leaders now refusing to speak on the issue, while JD(U) leaders have turned vocal proclaiming, "Nitish is CM and he will remain CM in the days ahead as well,"

In the 2020 Bihar assembly elections, BJP had bagged 74 seats and JD(U) could get only 43 seats, but still Nitish Kumar was made CM by the saffron party. Kumar, however, had then told the top BJP leaders that it would have been natural to pick anyone from the party as CM. This development in 2020 was used as a tool by BJP leaders to counter the attempt of RJD and Congress leaders to create confusion among the people on the next CM after the assembly elections.

Sensing that confusion over Nitish as the next CM after the 2025 assembly polls could cause electoral damage to NDA, BJP leader and union Home Minister Amit Shah announced at a public meeting during the campaign that there was no vacancy of CM in Bihar. It appeared more a shrewd and equivocal statement as Shah did not explicitly clarify that Nitish would become CM after NDA returns to power in the assembly polls.

Now that NDA has emerged victorious, the question of Nitish as next CM again has started doing the rounds.

Speaking to media persons about the formation of the new government, BJP state president Dilip Jaiswal said the party would spend the next few days organising programmes to thank the people of Bihar for the mandate. After that, MLAs of all constituent parties would choose their respective leaders, following which the NDA legislators would jointly select the alliance's leader.

He emphasised that this is the constitutional and traditional process followed during government formation.

Asked whether Nitish Kumar would return as Chief Minister, Jaiswal said the decision would ultimately be made by the BJP's central leadership.

Dharmendra Pradhan, who served as the BJP's election in-charge for Bihar, also avoided naming Nitish Kumar when questioned about the Chief Minister's post during an interview.

On the other hand, former JD(U) president and union Minister Rajeev Ranjan Singh alias Lalan Singh, after meeting Chief Minister Kumar at his official residence, emphatically told media persons that there was no vacancy of CM. Only Nitish would become CM and there was no doubt over it, he stressed.

JD(U) has also tried to send the message and make its intention clear that the party is strongly in favour of Nitish as CM, by putting up a poster saying "Tiger abhi jinda hai". Another poster was erected with the slogan "Har baar Nitish Kumar" (everytime Nitish as CM).

Now, it all depends on Prime Minister Narendra Modi to take a decision on the issue.

It will be difficult for Modi to change the guard in Bihar as survival of the government depends on crucial support of 12 JD(U) MPs in the Lok Sabha.