India, March 8 -- The internal functioning and political direction of the Janata Dal (United) is expected to undergo significant changes in the coming months following Nitish Kumar's move from Patna to Delhi.

With Kumar transitioning to national politics through the Rajya Sabha and a new BJP chief minister taking charge in Bihar, party leaders and observers expect his day-to-day influence over the state government and the organisational structure of the JD(U) to gradually diminish.

Kumar himself has publicly indicated that he would now play the role of a "Margdarshak", or guide. In Indian party politics, however, the experience of similar arrangements has shown that leaders occupying advisory positions often exercise limited operational...