Once Nitish enters Parliament, most of the CMs associated with NDA during the Atal Bihari Vajpayee-LK Advani era will remain at the helm of states, marking the end of an earlier generation of regional power centres.
Nearly 15 former CMs from the alliance are already MPs, six of whom currently serve in the Union Cabinet under Modi – also a former CM who rose from state politics to national leadership. With Nitish’s entry, the number of former CMs in NDA’s parliamentary ranks will rise to around 16. The shift underscores a defining trend of the Modi-Shah era: states turning increasingly Delhi-driven, veteran-lite, and aligning governance with Raisina Hill’s political vision. Senior regional satraps are often moved to the Centre for executive or parliamentary roles, while state leadership is handed to relatively newer but organisationally aligned faces. Among former CMs now in the Union Cabinet are Rajnath Singh, Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Manohar Lal Khattar, HD Kumaraswamy, Jitan Ram Manjhi and Sarbananda Sonowal. Others such as Biplab Kumar Deb, Trivendra Singh Rawat and Basavaraj Bommai have also transitioned to parliamentary roles. Leaders, including Jagadish Shettar, Narayan Rane, Jagadambika Pal and HD Deve Gowda are also part of Parliament. However, there are leaders such as Vasundhara Raje and Raman Singh who contested assembly elections and continue to remain in state politics but without much of a role.
Observers say the pattern reflects both the gravitational pull of the current BJP leadership and a calibrated political strategy. By moving seasoned regional leaders to Delhi, the party refreshes state leadership while retaining experienced figures within the national power structure. Outcomes, however, have been mixed. Leaders like Khattar, Deb, Rawat and Bommai eventually moved out of state politics after leadership transitions. In some cases, such as Sonowal in Assam, the shift came despite electoral victories, while Raghubar Das moved to a national role after defeat.
Yet the strategy has also produced durable state leaders such as Yogi Adityanath, Devendra Fadnavis and Pramod Sawant. Some leaders arrived in NDA’s national fold through their own political shifts. Jagadambika Pal joined BJP before 2014 after leaving the Congress, while Manjhi, Kumaraswamy and Deve Gowda entered as heads of regional parties whose influence in state politics had waned.
