The ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) alliance partner Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) leader Santosh Kumar Suman first demanded that the place Bakhtiyarpur, “birthplace” of JD(U) chief Nitish Kumar, be renamed as “Nitishpur” and, then party working president Sanjay Kumar Jha has urged that party be renamed as “Janata Dal-Nitish”, instead of “Janata Dal (United)”.

While eulogising the contributions of former Bihar Chief Minister and party chief Nitish Kumar for the growth and development of Bihar and the party as well, Mr. Jha, while addressing a public dialogue on “Nitish Samvad on Farakka Water Treaty” at Sharda Farm House in Khagaria on September 9, urged state party leaders, including state party president Umesh Kushwaha and others, “the time has come that the party should be renamed as Janata Dal-Nitish, instead of Janata Dal-United.”  

Mr. Jha, later posted a video clip of his over 27-minute speech at the programme in a post on social media in which he is heard eulogizing party leader Nitish Kumar’s contribution towards the state and the party. “Now, I would say that the time has come to rename the party as Janata Dal-Nitish, instead of Janata Dal (United).”, he said at 15:40 minutes in the video clip posted on his social media account X while, looking towards party leaders sitting on the dais, including state JD(U) chief Umesh Kushwaha.

Mr. Jha also recalled what was Bihar before 2005 and thereafter when Nitish Kumar became the Chief Minister of the State. “Now people call Biharis with pride, and Bihar has been progressing along with the party’s growth…I’ve never seen such a towering leader with such a chequered political career, years both in Bihar and at the center”, said the national working president of the party, Sanjay Kumar Jha, who is also party’s Rajya Sabha member.

Earlier, the ruling NDA alliance partner Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) president and minister for Minor Water Irrigation in chief minister Samrat Choudhary’s cabinet, Santosh Kumar Suman had demanded that the place “Bakhtiyarpur” be renamed as “Nitishpur”. Mr Suman, who is son of union minister for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises and former Bihar Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi, urged CM Mr. Choudhary to rename the town which is also the “birthplace of Mr (Nitish) Kumar”.

“Bakhtiyarpur is not merely a geographical identity. It is the birthplace of a great mass leader who, through his long public life, gave a new direction to Bihar’s politics, development and governance. The life journey, struggles and countless memories of Nitish Kumar ji are tied to this land and with this very sentiment. I place before the chief minister, Samrat Choudhary, the proposal to rename Bakhtiyarpur as Nitishpur”, he said in a post on his social media account on X.

Meanwhile, the Opposition Rashtriya Janata Dal took a jibe over JD(U) leaders’ demand and said, “They’re only following the BJP ideology, which believes in name-changing politics. BJP believes in name-changing politics and the JD(U) leaders are just following the footsteps of the saffron party”, alleged RJD spokesperson Ejaz Ahmed.

Earlier in 2021, the then BJP leader and party MLA from Bisfi constituency in Madhubani district, Haribhushan Thakur, too had demanded that “Bakhtiyarpur be renamed as Nitish Nagar”. However, the then chief minister Nitish Kumar had rejected Thakur’s demand, quipping it all as “faltu baat”.

Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in the Bihar Legislative Assembly Tejashwi Yadav on Sunday (June 28, 2026) criticised the Samrat Choudhary-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government, claiming it to be “on the verge of bankruptcy”. The Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader also hit out at the CM over the alleged tender scam.

On May 30, the Bihar General Administration Department had suspended two IAS officers — Yogesh Sagar and Abhilasha Kumari Sharma — and initiated a departmental inquiry against them for allegedly accepting bribes in exchange for awarding tenders to a contractor named Rishu Ranjan Sinha, alias Rishu Shree. All three have since been arrested, and further probe is on.

The former Deputy CM said the Treasury lacks the funds to pay employee salaries, student scholarships, pensions, and dues to farmers. “The Bihar government recently withdrew ₹3,660 crore from the Contingency Fund. They keep begging and pleading before the Centre, even as the Centre has expressed its inability to help,” Mr. Yadav said.

‘Tender scam’

On the issue of the “tender scam”, the RJD leader said, “Chats revealed during the investigation show that Rishu Shree enjoyed the protection of those in power.” The LoP alleged that the “big fish” were left out of the chargesheet that the police filed in the matter last week.

Tejashwi to blame: BJP

In response, Bihar BJP spokesperson Niraj Kumar alleged that the accused contractor enjoyed patronage during Mr. Yadav’s term in office. “All these scams involving Rishu Shree date back to the time when Tejashwi was the Minister of the department concerned,” he said.

Meanwhile, Mr. Choudhary on Sunday asserted his government’s “zero-tolerance approach” towards crime and said that most criminals have fled the State and taken refuge in neighbouring Nepal.

The Bihar Cabinet will be expanded on Thursday (May 7, 2026) in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP president Nitin Nabin in Patna’s Gandhi Maidan, the party’s State chief Sanjay Saraogi said.

Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary and his two deputies, Vijay Kumar Choudhary and Bijendra Prasad Yadav, had taken oath on April 15.