Nitish Kumar has become the Chief Minister of Bihar for the 9th term after he resigned from the post on January 28, 2024 and joined hands with the BJP. Samrat Choudhary and Vijay Sinha are his new deputies now. Nitish Kumar’s move to dump the Mahagathbandhan (grand alliance) to cross over to the NDA marked the fourth time in just over a decade that he has switched sides. At 72, Nitish, who is taking over as the CM now for a record ninth time, is a veteran socialist and a prominent product of the JP Movement of 1974-75. He has come a long way from the political years he spent in the shadow of, first, Lalu Prasad, and then George Fernandes in the Samata Party, which the two had founded in 1994. Nitish is no stranger to switching sides. The first time the eight-term Bihar CM, adept at the game of political survival, took his party to the Opposition camp was in June 2013 when he severed ties with the BJP on the ground that the NDA should have a leader with a “clean and secular image”. Born on March 1, 1951, Nitish Kumar has had a long and illustrious political career. He first became Chief Minister of Bihar in 2000, serving in the role for two terms before resigning in 2005. He then formed a coalition with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and returned as Chief Minister in 2005, holding the position until 2014. Since then, he has served as the Chief Minister of Bihar for multiple terms, most recently taking office in 2020. Nitish has come a long way from the political years he spent in the shadow of, first, Lalu, and then George Fernandes in the Samata Party, which the two of them had founded in 1994. The Samata Party had got off to a rocky start, with only seven seats in 1995. It was then that Nitish made a political calculation realising that a three-way fight would never allow him to grow. In 1996, he hitched his wagon to the BJP, with top leaders A B Vajpayee and L K Advani acknowledging the importance of having a credible name, that rose above caste, plus had a long political lineage, by their side. In 2000, as part of the NDA, Nitish became the chief minister. Though that government lasted seven days, an alternative to Lalu was looming on the horizon. Since then, Nitish, a Kurmi, an OBC caste with just 3% presence in the state, has deftly played his cards and chosen partners with a stronger social base. Nitish has emerged as a key factor in the Mission Opposition unity as he has succeeded in breaking the ice between the Congress and some of the key regional players like Mamata Banerjee and Arvind Kejriwal, with whom the grand old party’s relations had been strained. The efficacy of the Nitish factor in the Opposition unity plan would be established if he succeeds in bringing top non-BJP leaders from South India, such as KCR and Jagan, into the larger Opposition fold for the 2024 elections. The Tamil Nadu CM and DMK president, M K Stalin, has already been a staunch Congress ally. While mounting his efforts for a united front, Nitish is keen that the Opposition parties try and field one common candidate against the BJP in as many seats as possible in the 2024 elections to avert vote division. The Congress would face hurdles on seat-sharing with various prospective allies. One of Nitish Kumar's notable strengths lies in his governance and development agenda. Under his leadership, Bihar has witnessed significant improvements in sectors such as education, healthcare, and infrastructure. His emphasis on good governance, efficient administration, and inclusive development has earned him praise and support from a wide spectrum of voters. Nitish Kumar's focus on improving law and order and implementing welfare schemes has contributed to his popularity among the electorate, particularly in rural areas. He reels out statistics to compare the law and order situation, size of state budgets, numbers of constructed school buildings, high rates of school enrolment, and the numbers of girls bicycling to schools, as his government’s contributions. With the 2024 General Elections just one year away, Nitish Kumar faces several challenges and opportunities. Bihar's political landscape has become more competitive with the rise of regional parties and the BJP's ambitions to expand its influence. Nitish Kumar's ability to navigate this complex environment and position his party as a credible alternative will be crucial in determining his party's performance in the elections. Also, Nitish Kumar's role in Bihar's regional politics will have implications for the broader electoral landscape. With a significant number of parliamentary seats, Bihar holds considerable sway in the overall electoral arithmetic. Nitish Kumar's ability to consolidate his party's position in the state and secure a significant number of seats will impact the alliances and government formation at the national level.