Nitish sworn in as CM for 9th time: Seven things to know about the Bihar leader

1. Nitish first joined hands with the BJP back in 1996

Nitish was part of the socialist crop of leaders in Bihar who came to prominence during the JP Movement of 1974-75. He spent his first few years in politics in the shadow of the more charismatic Lalu Prasad Yadav and the firebrand George Fernandes. Fernandes and Nitish together formed the Samata Party in 1994. In an early display of political canniness, Nitish realised his party’s interests would be best served by aligning with the NDA, which he did in 1996, winning the Lok Sabha seat from Barh. He also became the Bihar CM for a short seven days in 2000 with the NDA’s support.

2. Resigned as Railway Minister on moral grounds

Nitish was the Union Minister for Railways and Minister for Surface Transport in Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s NDA government. On August 2, 1999, two trains collided in Gaisal in West Bengal, killing around 285 people. Nitish resigned as minister, taking responsibility. His short tenure was praised for reforms like internet ticket booking facility and the tatkal system.

The same year, he was appointed the Union minister for agriculture, and in 2001, the Railway ministry was restored to him.

3. Walked out of the NDA after Modi was chosen PM candidate

Before the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, when it became clear that Gujarat CM Narendra Modi would be the NDA’s PM face, Nitish walked out of the alliance, saying its leader should have a “clean and secular image”.

4. Resigned after JD(U)’s poor performance

After the JD(U)’s Lok Sabha seats tally fell from 20 to two in 2014, Nitish resigned as CM, taking responsibility for the poor show. Briefly, Bihar had a Chief Minister other than Nitish — Jitan Ram Manjhi was appointed to the top post. However, months later, Manjhi was asked to resign, and when he refused to do so, was expelled from the JD(U). Nitish came back as Chief Minister.

5. His son stays away from politics, is richer than him

Like Nitish, his son Nishant Kumar is also an engineer. He, however, has stayed away from politics, a fact Nitish flaunts to highlight his difference from “dynastic” parties.

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As per details of assets of the Chief Minister and his cabinet colleagues uploaded on the Bihar government website on December 31, 2021, Nitish had Rs 29,385 in cash and nearly Rs 42,763 deposited in the bank, while Nishant had Rs 16,549 in cash and Rs 1.28 crore in Fixed Deposit (FD) or deposits in various banks. Nitish had movable assets worth Rs 16.51 lakh whereas the total value of his immovable assets was around Rs 58.85 lakh. His son owned movable properties worth Rs 1.63 crore and the value of his immovable assets was around Rs 1.98 crore.

6. Why all parties want him

Despite his unreliable track record, there’s a reason Nitish is welcomed back into any alliance he chooses to join. The RJD, despite its larger social base of loyal voters and the enduring popularity of Lalu Yadav, lacks Nitish’s credentials of good governance and development. The BJP, even with its massive appeal on the national level, lacks a leader of stature in Bihar, and understands the value of Nitish’s vote-bank of extremely backwards castes and beneficiaries of government welfare schemes.

7. More terms, but shorter tenure

While Nitish Kumar has been sworn in as Chief Minister nine times, many others have served as CM longer than he has, in fewer tenures. Nitish has been CM for over 17 years, but many, like Sikkim’s Pawan Kumar Chamling (24 years), Odisha’s Naveen Patnaik (23 years), Bengal’s Jyoti Basu (23 years), have been in power for longer than he has.