The Bharatiya Janata Party has eventually set in motion the process to replace Nitish Kumar with its own chief minister in Bihar.With the filing of his nomination papers, along with five other National Democratic Alliance candidates for the Rajya Sabha seats on March 5, the Janata Dal (United) president has given a carte blanche to the Hindutva outfit to usher in Narendra Modi-Amit Shah’s brand of politics in the state.It won’t merely be a change of face – from one chief minister to another – but for the first time, the BJP will have its own chief minister in the state. This will presumably push it closer to its explicit goal of pursuing the kind of anti-minority, majoritarian, and anti-social justice politics that it practices in other states of the Hindi heartland.Nitish’s social media post announcing his desire to move to the Upper House, and thanking the people for supporting him as CM for over two decades, shocked and awed his JD(U) cadres. They thronged in hordes near 1 Anne Marg, the chief minister’s residence in Patna. Some wailed uncontrollably and the security men kept them at bay.The JDU has 85 MLAs – the largest group after the BJP with 90 – in the 202-member NDA in the Bihar assembly. What the JD(U) legislators – particularly those belonging to the extremely backward classes (EBCs), which have been Nitish’s backbone over the years – found hard to digest was that the party, which has 12 MPs in the Lok Sabha and on which the minority Narendra Modi government depends for its survival, has allowed the BJP to have its own chief minister.However, the BJP has systematically and shrewdly weakened Nitish, a leader of razor-sharp mind and impeccable reflexes till not so long ago, by exploiting his progressively sagging health. They were confident that Nitish, who dodged Modi and Shah with his back-and-forth movements between the BJP and the Rashtriya Janata Dal, would never allow the BJP to helm Bihar. Their confidence shattered today with Nitish meekly choosing a Rajya Sabha seat over the chair of the chief minister, which he had guarded fiercely for over 20 years.Probable faces and a legacyThe names of the incumbent deputy CM Samrat Choudhary, Union minister Nityanand Rai, and others are doing the rounds. But that is hardly important. What is important is that whoever is chosen as the new chief minister has to be in sync with the policies and vision of Modi and Shah. Moreover, he will have to keep himself behind the Modi–Shah combine, a la Bhajan Lal Sharma of Rajasthan, Mohan Yadav of Madhya Pradesh, and Mohan Charan Majhi of Odisha. He won’t be expected to be like an Adityanath in Uttar Pradesh – a perennial irritant because of his own “distinctness.”But the most significant duty for the new CM will be to dismantle Nitish’s legacy, which has been antithetical to the Hindutva worldview. Nitish’s public policies bore stamps of socialism and secularism.Reserving seats for the EBCs and Mahadalits in jobs and Panchayat bodies, the caste survey he ordered had aimed at the upliftment of marginalised sections. There is also the 30% reservation for women in jobs, special provisions for nutrition and healthcare for pregnant women and girl children, regularising the services of madrasa teachers, paying pensions to the victims of the 1989 Bhagalpur riots, and fencing Muslim graveyards.Despite his alliance with the BJP, Nitish kept the safety and security of minorities, the mitigation of poverty, inequality and deprivation, the generation of employment opportunities, and the building of road and electricity infrastructure as priorities of his governance. Be it his socialist upbringing or his personal nature, Nitish seldom deviated from socialism and secularism in his public policies and personal disposition. He loathed the ‘otherisation’ of Muslims throughout his political life.Politics of polarisationBut Modi-Shah’s priorities are completely different and diametrically opposed to Nitish’s.For instance, the Seemanchal region, comprising the districts of Purnea, Kishanganj, Katihar and Araria – with 30% to 50% Muslim population – has been a favoured destination for the Union home minister, who treats “ghuspaithia” (infiltrators, purportedly from Bangladesh) as the “biggest issue” of Bihar.As recently as February 28, Amit Shah reviewed the security situation in the bordering areas of Seemanchal and announced “zero tolerance” for infiltrators, encroachers and illegal constructions in the bordering areas. He emphasized the issue of infiltration despite the fact that neither his ministry has issued any specific data identifying infiltrators nor has the Special Intensive Revision (SIR), carried out ahead of the 2025 elections, furnished any figures on infiltrators. The common perception in Bihar’s larger political circles is that the BJP’s disproportionate emphasis on infiltrators is aimed at polarising Hindus against Muslims for political ends.The BJP’s anti-minority rhetoric has already begun echoing in the actions and statements of state party leaders. Recently, the state deputy CM Vijay Kumar Sinha imposed a prohibition on the sale of meat and chicken in the open. It had little meaning, as the state already has laws in place disallowing the open sale of meat.Apparently, Sinha’s action was aimed at targeting Muslims, who are widely believed to be engaged in the meat trade. Moreover, it was completely opposed to Nitish’s worldview. When Nitish became CM in 2005, he organised a grand Dussehra event at the Gandhi Maidan in Patna. The tabla maestro Kishanji Maharaj objected when some folk singers performed Bhojpuri songs on the stage. “You should not combine jalebi and curd with non-vegetarian meat and fish,” Kishanji Maharaj said, pointing out that “mixing folk songs with classical performance was like mixing non-vegetarian and vegetarian food.” Nitish, who was watching the programme, soon intervened, saying: “Meat, fish, curd and jalebi are all eatables – let people enjoy whatever they like.”Opportunity for politics of social justiceThe RJD leader of opposition Tejashwi Yadav, reacting to Nitish’s “abdication” of the CM’s position, said: “I had said during the election itself that the BJP, despite contesting the polls under Nitish’s stewardship, would not let him continue as CM. It’s a fraud on the mandate of the EBCs and Dalits.”Senior RJD leader Manoj Jha doubted the authenticity of the social media post, saying: “We have worked with Nitish ji. The post in the name of Nitish was created in Delhi by conspirators behind his glare. It’s a conspiracy.”The CPI(ML) Liberation general secretary, Dipankar Bhattacharya, too said: “The removal of Nitish from the CM’s post is a mockery of the 2025 mandate. It’s a big blow to the poor people who voted for Nitish’s party.”These leaders may be making the right noises. But Mahagathbandhan members, as well as others like Prashant Kishor’s Jan Suraj Party, will have to work intensively with EBCs, minorities and Dalits, who may face the heat with the BJP taking over the state.In a way, this is also an opportunity for the opposition. Traditionally, Bihar’s society has not been as fractured as those of Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat. With the political dominance of Lalu Prasad Yadav and later Nitish Kumar – both products of the backward class movement – for over three and a half decades, the state has largely stayed free from sustained Hindu-Muslim animosity and large-scale communal riots. Therefore, opposition leaders will need to work in a more concerted and intensive manner to regain the ground that Lalu and Nitish enjoyed throughout their political careers.Nalin Verma is a senior journalist, author and media educator.