PATNA, April 22 -- Former Bihar rural development minister and legislator from Nalanda assembly constituency, Shravan Kumar, has been appointed as the legislature party leader of the JD(U), according to a notification issued by the Vidhan Sabha on Tuesday. He has replaced former chief minister Nitish Kumar. A senior JD(U) leader, Shravan has been an MLA from Nalanda since 1995, winning eight consecutive terms. He was the chief whip of the JD(U) in the Bihar Vidhan Sabha earlier also and is considered close to Nitish Kumar as he remained a part of the Nitish cabinet since 2014. Nitish Kumar was elected the leader of the JD(U) legislature party on November 19, 2025, paving the way for his 10th term as Bihar chief minister. After his resignation, however, the post became important amid changed political dynamics within the ruling NDA. In a way, Shravan Kumar has been rewarded for his loyalty to Nitish Kumar who was the only and unanimous choice for JD(U) LP leader since 2005. Shravan also belongs to the same Kurmi caste as Nitish and represents Nalanda, a focus area for the former CM. CM Samrat Choudhary congratulated Shravan Kumar and said, "His experience and leadership would benefit Bihar." JD(U) spokesman Neeraj Kumar and party leader Nishant Kumar also joined a host of leaders to congratulate him. Shravan is seen as a leader who could take all the legislators along. All JD(U) legislators had earlier authorised former CM Nitish Kumar on Monday to name the LP leader ahead of the special assembly session on April 24 when the Samrat Choudhary government will seek the trust vote in the House. With 84 members in the 243-member Bihar Legislative Assembly, the JD(U) is the second largest party....