Nitish Kumar Conducts Aerial Survey As Water Level Rises In Several Rivers

With a tenure of 18 years, Nitish Kumar, 73, is the longest-serving Chief Minister of Bihar. He has an equally stunning record of switching sides. While his ideological infidelity has attracted mockery and ridicule, his ability to tilt the electoral scales in favour of the coalition of which he is a part remains unparalleled.

In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, Mr. Kumar proved critics wrong again when the Janata Dal (United), the party he heads, won 12 of the 16 seats it contested. Mr. Kumar is a maverick; he went beyond caste lines to mobilise a constituency of Extremely Backward Classes (EBCs). According to Bihar’s caste survey, this is the largest group constituting 36.01% of the population. The EBCs include 130-odd groups and sub-groups scattered across Bihar. Contrary to various pre-poll predictions, this group largely remained loyal to the Chief Minister.

Of late, however, it is not Mr. Kumar’s political acumen, but his fumbles that have generated headlines. His videos referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi as “Chief Minister”, scrutiny of Mr. Modi’s inked finger, exhortation to voters to elect “4,000 MPs”, and reference to a JD(U) Rajya Sabha MP as a Lok Sabha MP have all gone viral. While these tickle people on social media, they also raise questions about his mental acuity.