After decades of positioning himself as the anti-dynasty alternative in Indian politics, Bihar CM Nitish Kumar resigned his MLC seat to move to the Rajya Sabha — and his son Nishant, who joined JDU literally three weeks ago, is being lined up as Deputy CM. The party that built its identity on meritocracy has discovered that merit is hereditary.
Nitish Kumar, Bihar's longest-serving Chief Minister and a man who has spent his entire political career railing against dynasty politics, resigned from the Bihar Legislative Council on March 30 after being elected to the Rajya Sabha. In a plot twist that surprised absolutely nobody, his son Nishant Kumar — an engineering graduate in his 40s who formally joined JDU on March 8, exactly 22 days ago — is tipped to become Deputy Chief Minister in the new government. JDU MLA Hari Narayan Singh confirmed the party has "unanimously decided" to elevate the man whose primary qualification appears to be sharing a surname with the outgoing CM. Nishant's party membership is younger than most Amazon return windows, but he's already being fast-tracked to the second-highest constitutional office in the state. Nitish Kumar has officially completed the dynasty politics speedrun: from vocal critic to proud practitioner in one resignation letter.