Bihar’s political chess master and his moves

Nitish Kumar understands the board and his game well: He plays to his strength, strategises at multiple levels, and consolidates his core vote, among them women voters

- Shashi Shekhar

It was a bright morning towards the end of 2009. We were having tea with a close confidante of Nitish Kumar. I asked him what was the secret of his leader's success. He said, “On the chessboard of politics Nitish babu, like a knight, can move two-and-a-half paces forward and backward simultaneously. His right hand is unaware of what his left hand is about to do.” He insisted that even those closest to Nitish seldom knew what he would do the next moment.

“Nitish babu maintains political decency and never launches any personal attacks on his opponents. This is the reason his friends are wary and foes are expectant. He will definitely have a couple of people in the opposite camp, as a need may arise to align with them in the future. He believes in Chanakya’s axiom that, in politics or in life, there are no permanent friends or foes,” he added.

Now that he’s ready to take oath as chief minister (CM) for the 10th time, the question is: How did a politician who could never muster a majority on his own end up being an irreplaceable power pivot in Bihar politics? How will future students of political science view the Nitish phenomenon? To find answers to these questions, we'll have to rewind to 31 years ago.