Nitish Kumar: the constant and the variable of Bihar

5 se 30, phir se Nitish” (2025 to 2030, Nitish Again) declares. In mathematics, a constant is a fixed value, while a variable is one that changes. However, in Bihar’s politics, Nitish Kumar is paradoxically both the constant and the variable.

In the past two-and-a-half decades, he has taken oath as Chief Minister nine times — seven times with the support of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and twice with the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD).

Since November 2005, while the composition of the Opposition in the State has changed occasionally, Nitish has remained firmly in the Chief Minister’s chair, barring a 278-day period when the post was occupied by Jitan Ram Majhi, who was incidentally picked by Nitish as his proxy. Yet Nitish remains the most unpredictable variable in Bihar’s politics.