Nishant Kumar, son of incumbent Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar,  held a meeting with senior party leaders and young MLAs at the residence of the Janata Dal (United) National Working President Sanjay Kumar Jha.

Nishant Kumar will be officially joining the party on Sunday, JD(U) has confirmed.

JD(U) leaders today discussed the party’s future strategy and how to best move forward after party chief Nitish Kumar, in a historic move, is set to move back to the Centre with a seat in the Rajya Sabha.

The timing of Nishant’s entry into the party is directly linked to a major transition made by his father. On Thursday, March 5, Nitish Kumar filed his nomination for the Rajya Sabha, signalling the end of his record-breaking tenure as Chief Minister.

Nishant’s entry also marks a shift in Nitish’s stance on dynastic politics. However, JD(U) leader Neeraj Kumar informed that during the meeting at the CM’s house, Union Minister and MP Rajiv Ranjan Singh (Lalan) and MP Sanjay Jha made the suggestion to bring Nishant into state politics.

“Union Minister Lalan Singh and MP Sanjay Jha suggested that Nishant Kumar should enter the party, and the party enthusiastically welcomed the suggestion. Hence, Nishant Kumar will be joining the party tomorrow. He has given his acceptance to the same and will be conducting a political tour in the state as well,” JD(U) leader Neeraj Kumar said on Friday without clarifying further on Nishant’s role in state politics.

While Nishant has lived a low-profile life as a software engineer (BIT Mesra alumnus), there is intense speculation that he may be appointed as a Deputy Chief Minister in a new NDA government or potentially take a leadership role within the party amid a vacuum, as both Nitish and Sanjay Jha will now represent JD(U) in the Upper House of Parliament.