‘Sushasan Babu to Paltu Kumar': Nitish is man of many somersaults

Nitish Kumar, the longest serving chief minister of Bihar, earned the reputation of ‘Sushasan Babu’ for his good governance in Bihar in almost a decade from 2005 to 2014.

However, his image has taken a massive hit over the last decade or so with him switching allegiance time and again. Now, he is dubbed as ‘Paltu Kumar’ – a man often switching sides – in political circles, as he is currently hogging the limelight for joining hands with the BJP again after dumping the saffron ally only 18 months back.

No to Modi as PM face

Nitish had been consistent in his political approach before he first decided to end the JDU’s 17-year-long alliance with the BJP in 2013, as he was upset with the BJP’s move to name Narendra Modi as its prime ministerial candidate for 2014 Lok Sabha elections. However, when the saffron brigade told him that there was no question of going back on the decision, Nitish chose to leave the alliance.

Nitish claimed the responsibility for the JDU’s defeat in 2014 when the BJP won more than half the seats in Bihar and stepped down from the top post, appointing Jitam Ram Manjhi as the CM. Lalu Yadav’s RJD and Congress supported the JDU and the latter survived the majority test in the assembly — ultimately paving the way for the JDU-Congress-RJD alliance, the Mahagathbandhan.

The alliance helped Nitish win the state elections in 2015. He returned as the chief minister with Lalu Prasad's son and political heir Tejashwi Yadav as his deputy.

Demonetisation, GST

However, Nitish exhibited a clear inclination towards the BJP in 2016 when he backed the BJP’s demonetisation and GST-related policies. He made the second switch after the CBI filed corruption cases against Lalu Prasad and his kin.

He approached the RJD and asked for the resignation of Tejashwi Yadav, who was named in the CBI chargesheet. However, Lalu turned down his demand, prompting him to join hands with the BJP again and taking oath as the chief minister on July 27, 2017.

He headed the council of 14 ministers including two Deputy Chief Ministers — Tarkishore Prasad and Renu Devi, chosen by the BJP — given that the saffron party had bagged a majority of seats back then.

A year into the alliance, Nitish expressed strong reservation to the BJP's National Register for Citizens (NRC) amid his dissatisfaction over the appointment of two Deputy CMs in Bihar. Despite his party’s dwindling support, Nitish managed to keep his seat in after 2020 assembly elections. The BJP allowed Nitish to lead the alliance despite the saffron party winning 74 seats, while JDU managed to bag only 43.

Return to NDA in 18 months

However, a rift between the BJP and the JDU widened when the bigger alliance partner allegedly attempted to downsize the latter. Things became more complicated when Chirag Paswan-led Lok Jan Shakti Party (LJP) fielded candidates only against JDU but not against the BJP in the 2020 elections.

After several differences, Nitish parted ways with the BJP in August 2022 and was welcomed by the RJD again. Political circles were abuzz with the talk that Nitish and Lalu had reached an understanding to create space for the former in the Opposition politics at the national level while pushing Tejashwi Yadav towards a more significant role in state politics.

INDIA bloc efforts

Nitish put in a lot of effort to bring together Opposition parties on one platform and form the INDIA alliance. However, even after months of the alliance's formation, Nitish was not offered any role in it. He was apparently peeved at being sidelined in the INDIA bloc of which he was a key architect.

Subsequently, he made yet another switch right before the crucial 2024 Lok Sabha elections and 2025 Bihar assembly elections.

Currently, of the 243 constituencies in Bihar, the RJD has 79 seats while the JDU has 45, and the BJP has the majority 82.

Nitish has formed the government with a majority in alliance with the BJP, and continues to be the CM. From 115 seats in the 2010 Bihar elections to 71 in 2015 to just 43 in 2020, JDU's strength in the state assembly has been on a decline. Did that prompt him to move back to the BJP fold? After all, the party is now basking in the electoral promise of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya.

Early political career

During his early years as a politician, Nitish was associated with Ram Manohar Lohia, SN Sinha, Karpuri Thakur and VP Singh. He also participated in Jayaprakash Narayan’s movement between 1974 and 1977 before joining the Janata Party led by Sinha. He fought his first assembly elections from Harnaut in 1985 and emerged victorious. He backed Lalu Yadav as the Leader of Opposition in Bihar assembly in 1989. He along with George Fernandes defected to form the Samata Party in 1994.

Nitish joined hands with the BJP in 1996. During that time, Janata Dal president Sharad Yadav and Lalu had a spat, following which the latter formed his party called RJD. The Samata Party. In 2003, JDU was formed with Nitish at the helm. The JDU-BJP alliance came to power in Bihar in 2005. In his first term as the chief minister of Bihar in 2000, he lasted merely 7 days as the NDA didn’t have the numbers.

National role

Nitish also remained the Union minister, holding various portfolios like railways, surface transport and agriculture in 1998-99 in the NDA government of Atal Bihari Vajpayee. He resigned as the railways minister following Gaisal train disaster in August 1999.

However, he was back in the cabinet as the agriculture minister later that year. He was again given the charge of the railway ministry by Vajpayee from 2001 to May 2004. In the 2004 Lok Sabha polls, he contested elections from two constituencies and ended up winning in Nalanda and losing in Barh segment.