Former minister and senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Dilip Jaiswal has been officially re-elected as the new party president of Bihar. The announcement was made by the Bihar BJP Council in-charge Manohar Lal Khattar on Tuesday. This comes at a crucial time as the state is poised to go for Assembly elections in the month of October-November.
'One person, one post' rule
Earlier on February 26, Jaiswal resigned from the Nitish Kumar cabinet to conform with his party's policy of 'one person, one post'. Jaiswal, who held the crucial Revenue and Land Reform portfolio, was inducted into the cabinet in January last year after the BJP returned to power in the state with CM Nitish Kumar joining the NDA. In July last year, he had replaced Deputy CM Samrat Choudhary as the state BJP president.
Jaiswal announced his resignation hours after BJP president JP Nadda chaired a meeting of the party's state core committee in Patna on February 25. Party leaders did not divulge details of the discussions, only stating that they centred around the assembly polls due later this year. Information and Public Relations Department officials said the state cabinet will be expanded with new ministers scheduled to be sworn in at 4 pm in Raj Bhavan.
Bihar Assembly Elections
It should be noted here that the Legislative Assembly election for all 243 constituencies in Bihar is scheduled to be held in October or November 2025. The previous assembly elections were held in October–November 2020. After the election, the National Democratic Alliance formed the state government, with Nitish Kumar becoming Chief Minister. Later, In August 2022 Nitish Kumar-led JD(U) snapped ties with NDA and formed the government with RJD-led Mahagathbandhan. Later, In January 2024 Nitish Kumar-led JD(U) snapped ties with RJD-led Mahagathbandhan and again formed the government with BJP-led NDA.