Patna: Nitish Kumar recently took oath on November 20 for the 10th time as the chief minister of Bihar in a mega event organised at Patna’s Gandhi Maidan. The ceremony felt unlike any of his earlier ones. His voice trembled at moments where he once spoke with steady confidence. People who have followed his public speeches for decades noticed the strain. His years have begun to speak through his pauses and his breath. Even so, he remains at the centre of Bihar’s political map.
The state has lived under the same broad coalition (National Democratic Alliance or NDA) since 2005, only because he chose to stand with it. Neither the opposition Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) nor the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), an ally of the ruling NDA, has managed to claim power on its own since then. The man who won his first assembly seat in 1985 now moves through the evening light of his political life. His relevance shows no sign of fading.
This raises an old question with fresh urgency. Why has Bihar not produced an alternative to him? The BJP named him chief minister in 2020 even after the Janata Dal (United) or JD(U), another major partner of the ruling alliance, slipped to third place with only forty-three seats. The same story repeated in 2025. The BJP emerged as the single largest party but left the top chair to him.
A Politician Who Defies Easy Labels
Nitish occupies a curious space in Indian politics. He has emerged as Bihar’s longest-serving chief minister and has returned to the office again. Bihar’s three poles, the RJD, the BJP and the JD(U), have dominated every battle in the state. Opponents describe the RJD years of Lalu Prasad Yadav and Rabri Devi as “jungle raj” (lawlessness). The BJP stands firmly on a Hindutva-driven platform. The JD(U) positions itself between both, calling its path a social-democratic one.
The JD(U) emerged in 2003 with a claim to socialist roots. Nitish carried that banner into alliances with both the RJD and the BJP at different moments. His relevance grew every year since 2005.
Senior journalists often recall his early struggles. He lost the 1977 and 1980 elections. The rise of RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav in 1990 forced the BJP to look for an OBC face who could stand against the former chief minister’s rise. Nitish fulfilled that need. The BJP strengthened him as he climbed the ladder. Their paths diverged after the 2010 mandate, once Narendra Modi became the central question inside the NDA.
Nitish broke the old alliance after 17 long years. The JD(U) His party, the JD(U) contested the 2014 Lok Sabha elections with the Communist Party of India (CPI) but managed to win only two seats. That experience perhaps influenced his understanding of Bihar’s social terrain. He sensed that he could not fight both the RJD and the BJP at the same time.
His Style Of Politics
Bihar’s political structure rests heavily on caste. Only two parties, the BJP and the Left, work with a solid cadre network. The RJD depends on its traditional Muslim-Yadav support. Nitish entered power in 2005 with a JD(U) that lacked organisational strength. He shifted the conversation in Bihar from caste alone to the promise of development. But he did not ignore caste blocks. He simply linked those blocks with targeted policies.
Political observers note that Lalu Yadav often walked into Dalit and OBC homes to strengthen trust through personal connection. Nitish follows a distant, policy-heavy approach. He makes schemes that ripple across communities. Both styles reach people in different ways.
His own caste group, the Kurmi community, makes up only 2.87 percent of Bihar. The Koeri community brings the total to about seven percent. People call them the “Luv-Kush” bloc. Nitish expanded far beyond this base. He brought women into the political story in a way Bihar had never seen. He brought Extremely Backward Castes (EBC) and Mahadalits into the fold through a series of welfare and social engineering measures. His party crossed 19 percent vote share this year.
Women As His Strongest Wall Of Support
Nitish built policies around women. Bicycles, uniforms, attendance incentives and a long chain of support schemes created a connection between women and his leadership. A woman who voted for him in 2010 often passed that loyalty to her daughter. Generations shifted but the vote stayed.
EBCs and Mahadalits felt a similar pull because his government invested in their growth for years. The caste survey in Bihar emerged from this same political instinct. The BJP opposed the idea, but Nitish completed it and brought the numbers before the state. Those numbers now influence every party’s strategy. They also turn him into a necessity for his allies.
Jeevika Didis (women members of self-help groups under the Bihar Rural Livelihoods Promotion Society or BRLPS) played a crucial role this election. Their self-help groups now connect 1.40 crore women. This network has it influence. Their loyalty turned into votes.
Age And An Uncertain Future
Nitish is now 75. People remember him as “Sushasan Babu”, a man who delivered good governance. Many voters still see him through that memory. Women see him with an affection that people reserve for their protector. They saw welfare schemes, pension support and stability. Though youth talked about his unmet promises of jobs and stopping migration, they still expect him to deliver.
Political analysts view his situation through a different lens. They say the NDA kept him in the chair because voters cast their ballots with his name in mind. They also sense that the BJP will not risk a sudden change before crucial state elections next year. They expect the alliance to wait and watch.
A State Still Struggling Beneath The Surface
Two decades of his leadership have not lifted Bihar above the bottom rungs of India’s human development indicators. Education, jobs, industry and per capita income continue to lag behind most states. Even then, the 2025 election produced no wave of anger against him.
This makes the central question stronger. Does Bihar truly have no alternative to Nitish?
One of the state’s senior social scientists believes voters decide alternatives, not political parties. He points to a larger shift in Indian democracy. Cash transfers and welfare schemes now influence voting decisions more strongly than ever. The state transferred Rs 10,000 into the accounts of lakhs of women during the election period. That move steered the final result. The ruling alliance gained the most from it.
Nitish may be moving through the final stretch of his political life. His voice may shake and his energy may tire. Even so, the map of Bihar still bends around him. The story of the state continues to turn on his presence.
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