Nitish Kumar switches sides yet again, takes oath as Bihar CM

Nitish Kumar, president of the Janata Dal (United), took oath as Bihar Chief Minister for the ninth time on Sunday, returning to the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance just 18 months after leaving it, in his sixth political transfer since 2015. Six ministers and two deputy chief ministers, both from the BJP, were sworn in beside him.

Mr. Kumar stated that his current decision was “in the best interests of Bihar”. The BJP stated that its renewed “alliance with the JD(U) happened for the development of Bihar”. The Rashtriya Janata Dal, with whom Mr. Kumar has broken up again, stated, “The game is not over yet,” forecasting the JD(U)’s death as a party.

Mr. Kumar has made numerous political turnarounds to remain the Chief Minister of Bihar since November 2005, with the exception of a brief sabbatical following his party’s bad result in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections.

 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Mr. Kumar and wrote on X, “The NDA government formed in Bihar will leave no stone unturned for the development of the state and to fulfil the aspirations of its people.” I congratulate Nitish Kumar ji on his appointment as chief minister, as well as Samrat Choudhary ji and Vijay Kumar Sinha ji on their swearing-in as deputy chief ministers. He went on to say: “I’m confident that this team will serve my family members of the state with full dedication.”

Mr. Choudhary has been the BJP’s State President since last year, and Mr. Sinha was the Leader of Opposition in the State Assembly; both new Deputy Chief Ministers were harsh critics of Mr. Kumar while he led the magathbandhan government in coalition with the RJD and Congress, among others. The new Cabinet includes three members from the BJP and JD(U), including Gaya’s eight-time BJP MLA Prem Kumar and senior JD(U) leaders Vijay Kumar Chaudhury, Bijendra Yadav, and Shrawan Kumar, as well as one Independent MLA Sumit Kumar Singh and Santosh Kumar Suman of the Hindustani Awami Morcha (Secular).

‘In the interests of Bihar’

After they were all sworn in, Mr. Kumar assured journalists that he would “soon” enlarge his Cabinet. He also described the reasoning behind his recent shift in loyalties. “I made this decision [to re-join the BJP] in the best interests of Bihar. I returned to where I had been before and went somewhere in between, but now I am free. “Nothing was happening there,” he said.

“Since things were not working well in the mahagathbandhan (grand alliance) and no work was being done from their [RJD] side on what JD(U) was doing; after listening to everyone, I decided to dissolve this government to form the NDA government,” he told reporters earlier in the day after tendering his resignation to Governor Rajendra Viswanath Arleaker.

Tejashwi Yadav, the head of the RJD and former Deputy Chief Minister, stated that the game is still ongoing.It has only just begun, and the JD(U) will be completed as a party in 2024 itself.” He stated, “I do whatever I say.” “The people of the state are with us.” His sister Rohini Acharya, a Singapore resident, also posted caustic social media remarks about Mr. Kumar, using veiled references. “Garbage returns to the garbage. “Congratulations to the dustbin for collecting the slinkiest garbage,” she wrote.

The BJP and JD(U) held separate legislative party meetings earlier in the day before banding together to proclaim themselves as the new NDA bloc at the Chief Minister’s official house. Mr. Kumar then went to the Raj Bhawan to declare his intention to create the new NDA administration. J.P. Nadda, the BJP’s national president, attended the swearing-in ceremony, as did alliance partners Chirag Paswan of the Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas), Upendra Kushwaha of the Rashtriya Lok Janata Dal, and Jitan Ram Manjhi of the HAM(S).

 

These leaders have all hammered Mr. Kumar on a number of subjects; nonetheless, as they exited the ceremony, they asserted that Bihar’s new administration had been constituted for the “development of the state.”

“To prevent the return of jungle raj in Bihar and for the development of the State, we decided to come along with Nitish Kumar ji when his proposal came to us,” said Mr. Choudhury, the new deputy chief minister. His partner Deputy Chief Minister, Mr. Sinha, stated that he had faith in the Prime Minister. “For the development of Bihar, our party’s top leadership decided to form the new government in the State.”

“Now it has become a natural alliance and it will be good for Nitish Kumar ji as well,” said Mr. Kushwaha with a laugh. “Where PM Modi will be, I too will go,” Mr. Paswan said.

NDA will sweep 40 LS seats.

“When an NDA administration was created in Bihar, the state experienced increased stability and progress. Law and order has recently deteriorated in the State, and our alliance will now accelerate growth,” Mr. Nadda stated. “Now, the NDA will sweep the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections, winning all [40] seats in Bihar. Our alliance will also perform well in the 2025 State Assembly elections,” he continued. Mr. Nadda attacked the Opposition INDIA group, which Mr. Kumar helped form but has since abandoned, saying: “It was an unholy alliance, and we knew it would crumble. This INDIA coalition is a conceptual failure, created by pariwar bachao (save family) and property bachao (save property) allies, as well as corrupt individuals.

Mr. Kumar last came to power with the BJP after the 2020 Assembly election, but he broke connections and created the mahagathbandhan government in August 2022, alongside the RJD, Congress, and Left parties.

 

All Bihari politicians are turncoats.

Political strategist-turned-activist Prashant Kishor, who previously warned that Mr. Kumar would make another comeback before the 2024 Lok Sabha election, stated, “Now Nitish Kumar is widely acknowledged as sardar (head) of palturams (turncoats). However, today’s developments demonstrated that all politicians in Bihar are palturams. He provided a bleak outlook for Mr. Kumar’s political prospects. “This structure, in which Nitish Kumar is the face of the NDA, will not exist until the Bihar assembly elections next year. “I can give you this in writing,” he stated. “The change will happen within six months of the Lok Sabha poll [likely to be held in April-May 2024],” said Mr. Kishor.

The new NDA government in the state now has the support of 128 MLAs — 78 from the BJP, 45 from the JD(U), four from the HAM(S), and one Independent — while the mahagathbandhan, now in opposition, has the support of 115 legislators in the 243-member State Assembly, including 79 from the RJD, 19 from the Congress, 16 from the Left, and one from AIMIM.

 

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