Patna, November 19, 2025: The major constituent parties of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) on Wednesday elected their respective legislature party leaders. In a meeting of Janata Dal (United) (JDU) MLAs, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar was chosen as the leader of the legislative party. Simultaneously, the newly elected Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLAs selected senior leader Samrat Chaudhary as their legislative party leader. Both parties confirmed this information.
The JDU meeting was held at 'Samvad' within the Chief Minister's Secretariat complex in Patna, attended by all newly elected MLAs and 22 members of the Legislative Council from the party. This decision was made ahead of a joint meeting of NDA constituent parties, where Kumar is also expected to be elected as the alliance leader.
JDU leader and outgoing state minister Shravan Kumar stated that the newly elected MLAs chose Nitish Kumar as the leader of the JDU legislative party. He informed that JDU leaders Vijay Chaudhary and Umesh Kushwaha proposed the motion, which was supported by senior JDU leader Bijendra Yadav, and subsequently endorsed by JDU's acting national president Sanjay Jha and Union Minister Rajiv Ranjan Singh 'Lalan'.
After being elected as the legislative party leader, Nitish Kumar addressed the assembled leaders, urging continuous efforts for the welfare of the state. Party leader Shravan Kumar announced that JDU chief Nitish Kumar, 75, will take the oath as Chief Minister for the tenth time on Thursday at Patna's historic Gandhi Maidan. He added that Kumar's election as the NDA leader in the five-party alliance meeting is certain.
Meanwhile, in the BJP legislative party meeting, newly elected MLAs chose Samrat Chaudhary as their leader. Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister and BJP central observer Keshav Prasad Maurya stated that BJP MLAs unanimously elected Samrat Chaudhary as the legislative party leader and Vijay Sinha as the deputy leader. Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal and former Union Minister Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti were present as co-observers at the meeting.
A BJP leader informed that a total of 10 newly elected MLAs proposed the names of Samrat Chaudhary and Vijay Sinha as leader and deputy leader respectively, which were unanimously supported by all MLAs. After being elected as the deputy leader of the party's legislative group, Sinha told reporters that he is grateful for the trust placed in him by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, and the top leadership. He pledged to work diligently to fulfill the Prime Minister's resolve of 'good governance to prosperity'.
Senior BJP leader and former Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad told reporters that decisions are made with love and consensus, as per agency report. He added that the public first elected the government with a huge majority, and now the legislative party has chosen its leader.
In the interim, JDU leader Shravan Kumar said that Nitish Kumar would meet Governor Arif Mohammad Khan in the evening to request the initiation of the process to form a new government. He will also submit letters of support from all NDA constituents to the Governor. He mentioned that the term of the current assembly would conclude on Wednesday. BJP leader Maurya also stated that after the election of the legislative party leaders of both parties, the NDA would formally meet the Governor to stake claim to form the government.
Following the selection of leaders for both major parties, an official meeting of all NDA constituent parties will be held. In this meeting of the alliance's legislative party, Nitish Kumar is expected to be unanimously elected as the leader of the NDA legislative party. Sources indicated that after the joint NDA meeting, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, along with his allies, will visit the Raj Bhavan to meet the Governor and stake claim to form the government. Preparations for the swearing-in ceremony are also underway simultaneously.
In the 243-member assembly, the NDA secured a massive majority by winning 202 seats. In the elections, BJP won 89 seats, JDU 85, LJP (Ram Vilas) 19, 'HAM' five, and RLM four seats. BJP has become the largest party in the assembly for the first time.
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