Nitish Kumar to rule Bihar, again

Women voters and BJP alliance help the JD(U) return as the undisputed king in the eastern state, while the opposition floundered

- Ruhi Tewari

Nitish Kumar dodged a bouquet of odds-a 20-year anti-incumbency, a sentiment for badlaav (change) among some sections, public disillusionment with unemployment and concerns of ill-health.

(PT)

In its run-up, the 2025 assembly election in Bihar was all about Nitish Kumar—a contest between what he had done in the past 20 years and what he hadn't. And the results on Friday reflected how Kumar remains at the heart of the state's politics.

Dodging a bouquet of odds—a 20-year anti-incumbency, a sentiment for badlaav (change) among some sections, public disillusionment with unemployment, concerns of ill-health and the unenviable image of being east India's version of ‘Aaya Ram Gaya Ram’, Kumar managed to return to power as chief minister with a thumping mandate, with the National Democratic Alliance leading in or having won 202 of the 243 seats at the time of going to press.

With this, Kumar has cemented his position as a formidable regional leader who knows how to remain in power, either through astute mass politics or clever, even if brazen, alliance hopping.

What consistently works for Kumar is the perception of ushering a watershed in the state's polity converting it from the ‘jungle raj’ of the previous Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) regime to a functioning state ever since taking over as chief minister for his first full term in 2005.

This contrast between the previous RJD regime and Nitish Kumar's rule is so stark that it manages to overwhelm much else—even voter fatigue for a two-decade-long regime, which several other tall leaders find hard to beat. It's particularly notable given how splintered Bihar's electoral landscape is and how the many moving parts make the field even tougher to navigate.

As a cherry on the cake, his ally, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), more than delivered at its end giving a huge fillip to Kumar.