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Nitish Kumar submits his resignation as Bihar CM (Img: Internet)
New Delhi: The exit of 75-year-old Nitish Kumar from Bihar politics marks an end of an era dominated by Samajwadi form of politics and paves the way for a phase governed by the right wingers.
Kumar, who had been at the helm of governance in Bihar since 2005, with some intermissions, will now serve as one of the 245 Members of the Rajya Sabha amid no indications about him being accommodated in the Narendra Modi-led Council of Ministers.
The Janata Dal (United) leader set a record of 10 terms as the Chief Minister of Bihar and his departure facilitates his alliance partner BJP to install its own man at the helm for the first time in the state’s history.
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So far, the BJP had been playing the second fiddle in the governments headed by Kumar, once even after getting a seat share bigger than the count of JDU. Kumar has been a defining figure of Bihar’s political landscape for nearly 20 years, forming governments with BJP and RJD, alternately.
The shifting of loyalties earned him the title of ‘Paltu Ram’ (turncoat) of politics. But his unique political acumen helped him to weather this ignominy as he oscillated successfully between the two parties with extreme ideologies.
Kumar started his political journey during the socialist movements of the 1970s. He began as a student leader during Jayaprakash Narayan’s ‘Total Revolution’ movement between 1974 and 1977.
During the Emergency, he was detained under the notorious Maintenance of Internal Security Act (MISA). His tryst with the politics of Bihar started in 1985 when he got elected to the Legislative Assembly from the Harnaut constituency.
In 1989, he moved to national politics when he contested and got elected to the Lok Sabha from Barh constituency. He was made a minister in the government of Prime Minister VP Singh.
Subsequently, when the BJP-led NDA formed a government, headed by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in 1998, Kumar was again made a Cabinet Minister. He held Portfolios of Railways, Agriculture, and Surface Transport.
In 2000, when the Assembly elections in Bihar threw up a fractured mandate, Kumar was made the compromise Chief Minister but it lasted for mere seven days as he had to resign.
However, in 2005, JD(U) and BJP got a proper majority in the Assembly and he was made the Chief Minister, with the special blessings of L K Advani.
Kumar’s government mainly focused on law and order, in tune with the election campaign plank of ending the ‘jungle raj’ of a long rule of RJD leader Lalu Prasad.
He also paid special attention to development of infrastructure and women’s empowerment, and was portrayed as ‘Sushashan Babu’ (Good Governance Man).
However, from 2013, Kumar started shifting political loyalties between BJP and RJD. This earned him the title of ‘Paltu Ram’ and a ‘U-Turn’ leader.
In 2013, when BJP started projecting Narendra Modi as its Prime Ministerial candidate, Kumar snapped alliance with that party, claiming that he could not associate with a leader whose name was associated with the 2002 Gujarat riots.
He joined hands with RJD and the two firmed up a coalition called ‘Maha Gathbandan’ which formed the government in 2015.
Two years later, when Modi was already the Prime Minister and the top most man in BJP, Kumar again associated with the Saffron party.
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In 2022, he again switched loyalty to RJD, only to return to BJP in 2024. In the 2025 Assembly elections, Kumar led the NDA to a significant victory and was again made the Chief Minister for the record 10th time.
His transition to the Rajya Sabha marks a major shift from state-level governance to national politics. He was elected to the Rajya Sabha on March 16, necessitating his resignation from the Bihar Legislative Council (MLC) and subsequently the CM post.
He was sworn in as a Member of Parliament in the Rajya Sabha on April 10.
