Er. Prabhat Kishore
On 15th August 2021, India created history with the celebration of its 75th anniversary of independence, “Amrit Mahotsava.” Another milestone has been created in Bihar, where Chief Minister Nitish Kumar completed 5,474 days in power, surpassing the earlier record of Sri Krishna Singh, the first Chief Minister of Bihar. For nearly two decades, politics in Bihar has revolved around Nitish Kumar. In the Vidhan Sabha election 2025, Bihar once again decided to march forward under his leadership. The NDA, led by him, returned to power, securing 202 seats out of 243, and he became Chief Minister for a record 10th time.
Nitish Kumar, who hails from a Kurmi Kisan family of Kalyanbigha in Harnaut (Nalanda), started his political journey in 1974, when the student movement led by Jai Prakash Narayan evolved. Then a student at Bihar College of Engineering (now NIT), Patna, he devoted himself fully to the revolution. He was detained under MISA in 1974 and during the Emergency in 1975. In 1977, he contested the Vidhan Sabha election from the Harnaut constituency against veteran Socialist Party leader Bhola Prasad Singh but did not succeed. He again lost the 1980 election to Arun Singh, who had been controversially acquitted in the Belchhi massacre.
In the 8th Lok Sabha election of 1984, Sri Dharamvir Singh, a veteran Congress leader and former minister in the Indira Gandhi government, lost amid the sympathy wave following Indira Gandhi’s assassination. There was widespread public resentment due to his defeat in the Harnaut and Chandi segments. Nitish campaigned for him in the Lok Sabha election. This helped Nitish get elected to the Vidhan Sabha in 1985 in his third attempt, after which his political graph rose sharply.
He was appointed President of the Yuva Lok Dal in 1987 and became Secretary General of the newly formed Janata Dal in 1989. He was elected to the Lok Sabha from Barh constituency in 1989, 1991, 1996, 1998, and 1999, and later from Nalanda in 2004. In the central government led by Atal Bihari Vajpayee, he served as Minister of State (Agriculture), Cabinet Minister for Railways in 1998, Surface Transport Minister in 1999, Agriculture Minister in 1999, and again Railway Minister in 2001.
Nitish Kumar was the leader who influenced legislators to elect Lalu Prasad as the leader of the legislature party after the demise of Karpoori Thakur (former Chief Minister), and subsequently as Chief Minister when the Janata Dal came to power in 1990. He earned the reputation of being the “Chanakya” of Bihar politics. Nitish and Lalu were often described as the right and left arms of Devi Lal in Bihar; both supported V.P. Singh during the implementation of the Mandal Commission report.
The Janata Dal had come to power on certain promises to the people. Nitish presented various development projects to the state government, but these were no longer Lalu’s priority. His suggestions were sidelined, and he became the target of dismissive remarks. Gradually cornered, Nitish found it difficult to continue within the setup. The aggressive rally of Kurmi Samaj and the Lav-Kush Sammelan in 1994 signaled growing resentment among non-Yadav sections of society. Nitish joined the rally at a later stage and realized that the opportune moment to assert himself had arrived. Voices from small artisan and landless communities also rose for upliftment and power sharing.
The Samata Party was formed in 1994 under the leadership of veteran socialist George Fernandes. Nitish Kumar was projected as the Chief Ministerial candidate in the 1995 election, but the party performed poorly. After deliberations, the BJP–Samata Party alliance was formed, and its positive impact was visible in subsequent Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha elections. In the 2000 election, no party secured a clear majority, and Nitish was appointed Chief Minister by the Governor. However, he could not secure majority support and resigned.
After the fall of the NDA government led by Vajpayee in 2004, he focused entirely on Bihar and launched several “yatras” against the alleged misrule of the state government. In the November 2005 election, the NDA secured a full majority under his leadership, and he took oath as Chief Minister. Since then, he has remained in office, except for 278 days when his nominee, Jitan Ram Manjhi, served as Chief Minister.
Nitish Kumar kept himself away from casteism and family-based politics. He advanced with a balanced social engineering approach, aiming to include all communities, in contrast to the “MY” (Muslim-Yadav) combination of the RJD and the “upper caste” support base of Congress, BJP, or Left parties. He often promoted leaders from other communities in bureaucracy and party positions, even at the cost of representation from his own caste. Senior IAS officers like K.D. Sinha were not appointed Chief Secretary, and IPS officer Ashish Ranjan Sinha was removed from the post of DGP, reportedly due to such considerations. Despite being the backbone of the party, members of his own caste did not receive proportional representation in electoral tickets or ministerial positions. Instead, extremely backward castes, Pasmanda Muslims, Mahadalits, and women remained his priority.
In the 2020 Bihar election, the contest was seen less as “NDA vs Mahagathbandhan” and more as “Nitish vs All.” These marginalized sections, often termed “silent voters,” stood firmly behind him, even when segments of traditional upper-caste voters shifted away.
Amid political friction, including criticism from BJP leaders and alleged attempts to weaken the JDU, Nitish exited the NDA and formed a Mahagathbandhan government on 10th August 2022 with the support of Lalu Prasad-led RJD and the UPA, taking oath as Chief Minister for the 8th time. He also demonstrated national-level organizational ability by helping form the INDIA bloc of 28 parties against the BJP. However, delays in seat-sharing and strategy for the Lok Sabha elections caused dissatisfaction.
In Bihar, although Nitish publicly expressed willingness to contest under the leadership of Tejashwi Yadav, tensions grew as Lalu Prasad appeared eager to elevate Tejashwi by splitting JDU legislators. This situation led Nitish to reconsider the alliance. Eventually, he resigned as Chief Minister on 28th January 2024 and rejoined the NDA, forming the government again the same day. He took oath as Chief Minister for the 9th time.
In the 2025 Vidhan Sabha election, Nitish Kumar remained the central figure, and under his leadership, the NDA secured a landslide victory. He took oath as Chief Minister for the record 10th time on 20th November 2025. He also holds the record for the longest-serving Chief Minister of Bihar, with over 19 years in office.
