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NEW DELHI: The BJP is on the threshold of a historic first in Bihar. After a long wait - spanning first the Lalu era and then the Nitish era in Bihar .

Nitish Kumar's move to the Rajya Sabha clears the way for a new Bihar chief minister, widely expected to be a BJP leader.

The JD(U) may still have 12 members in the Lok Sabha and 85 in the state Assembly, but without Nitish Kumar as its face, the party is confronted with a big leadership vacuum.

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar filed his nomination for the Rajya Sabha in Patna in the presence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah, along with NDA candidates Nitin Nabin, Upendra Kushwaha and Shivesh Kumar. The development sparked a political row, with RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav alleging that the BJP has "hijacked" Nitish Kumar and claiming the move proves BJP's plan to remove him from the Chief Minister's post.

PATNA: RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav on Thursday said Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's decision to enter the Rajya Sabha was a "betrayal" of the people's mandate

Nitish Kumar will be coming to central politics after a gap of two decades. He submitted his Rajya Sabha nomination in the presence of Home Minister Amit Shah and other top BJP, JD-U leaders.

Although the JDU has not officially announced a successor, the move is widely viewed as opening the door for a BJP leader to lead the NDA government in Bihar.

With Nitish joining the Upper House, the door is open for the BJP to appoint its own chief minister in Bihar for the first time.

Nitish Kumar also spelled out his long-harboured wish to become a member of both Houses of Parliament and both Houses of the state legislature. He has already been a Lok Sabha MP, an MLA, and an MLC, and a Rajya Sabha stint would complete the quartet.

Nitish Kumar, who has been the CM since 2005, said the new government that will be formed in the state will have his full cooperation and guidance.