Nitish Kumar

Nitish Kumar
Kumar in 2022
22nd Chief Minister of Bihar
Assumed office
22 February 2015
Governor
DeputyTejashwi Yadav (2015–2017) (2022–2024)
Sushil Kumar Modi (2017–2020)
Tarkishore Prasad and Renu Devi (2020–2022)
Samrat Chaudhary and Vijay Kumar Sinha (2024-Present)
Preceded byJitan Ram Manjhi
ConstituencyMLC
In office
24 November 2005 – 20 May 2014
DeputySushil Kumar Modi (until 16 June 2013)
Preceded byPresident's rule
Succeeded byJitan Ram Manjhi
ConstituencyMLC
In office
3 March 2000 – 10 March 2000
Preceded byRabri Devi
Succeeded byRabri Devi
ConstituencyMLC
Union Minister of Railways
In office
20 March 2001 – 21 May 2004
Prime MinisterAtal Bihari Vajpayee
Preceded byMamata Banerjee
Succeeded byLalu Prasad Yadav
In office
19 March 1998 – 5 August 1999
Prime MinisterAtal Bihari Vajpayee
Preceded byRam Vilas Paswan
Succeeded byMamata Banerjee
Union Minister of Agriculture
In office
27 May 2000 – 21 July 2001
Prime MinisterAtal Bihari Vajpayee
Preceded bySunder Lal Patwa
Succeeded byAjit Singh
In office
22 November 1999 – 3 March 2000
Prime MinisterAtal Bihari Vajpayee
Preceded byAtal Bihari Vajpayee
Succeeded bySunder Lal Patwa
Union Minister of Surface Transport
In office
13 October 1999 – 22 November 1999
Prime MinisterAtal Bihari Vajpayee
Preceded byM. Thambidurai
Succeeded byJaswant Singh
In office
14 April 1998 – 5 August 1999
Prime MinisterAtal Bihari Vajpayee
Preceded byJaswant Singh
Succeeded byRajnath Singh
National President of Janata Dal (United)
Assumed office
29 December 2023
Preceded byLalan Singh
In office
10 April 2016 – 27 December 2020
Preceded bySharad Yadav
Succeeded byRCP Singh
Personal details
Born (1951-03-01) 1 March 1951 (age 73)
Bakhtiarpur, Bihar, India
Political partyJanata Dal (United)
Other political
affiliations
National Democratic Alliance (2024–present; 2017–2022; 1999–2013)
Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (2023–2024)
Samata Party (until 2005)
Janata Dal (1989–1994)
Spouse
Manju Sinha
(m. 1973; died 2007)
Children1
Parents
  • Kaviraj Ram Lakhan Singh (father)
  • Parmeshwari Devi (mother)
Alma materBihar College of Engineering (BE)
Signature
Source: [1]

Nitish Kumar (born 1 March 1951) is an Indian politician who has been serving as the 22nd chief minister of Bihar since 22 February 2015, having previously held the office from 2005 to 2014 and for a short period in 2000. He is Bihar's longest serving chief minister whilst also holding the post for his 9th term.[1]

He is the leader of the Janata Dal (United). Previously, Kumar also served as a Union Minister as the Samata Party member.[2] He was member of the Samata Party until 2005 and Janata Dal from 1989 to 1994. Kumar first entered politics as a member of the Janata Dal, becoming an MLA in 1985. A socialist, Kumar founded the Samata Party in 1994 along with George Fernandes. In 1996 he was elected to the Lok Sabha, and served as a Union Minister in the government of Atal Bihari Vajpayee, with his party joining the National Democratic Alliance. In 2003 his party merged into the Janata Dal (United), and Kumar became its leader. In 2005, the NDA won a majority in the Bihar Legislative Assembly, and Kumar became chief minister heading a coalition with the Bharatiya Janata Party.

In the 2010 state elections, the governing coalition won re-election in a landslide. In June 2013, Kumar broke with the BJP after Narendra Modi was named as their candidate for prime minister, and formed the Mahagathbandhan, a coalition with the Rashtriya Janata Dal and Indian National Congress and joined in United Progressive Alliance. On 17 May 2014, Kumar resigned as chief minister after the party suffered severe losses in the 2014 Indian general election, and was replaced by Jitan Ram Manjhi. However, he attempted to return as chief minister in February 2015, sparking a political crisis that eventually saw Manjhi resign and Kumar become chief minister again. Later that year, the Mahagathbandhan won a large majority in the state elections. In 2017, Kumar broke with the RJD over corruption allegations and returned to the NDA, leading another coalition with the BJP; at the 2020 state elections his government was narrowly reelected. In August 2022, Kumar left the NDA, rejoining the Mahagathbandhan (Grand Alliance) and UPA.[3][4] In January 2024, Kumar left the Mahagathbandhan once again and rejoined the NDA.[5]

  1. ^ Vardhan, Anand (21 October 2023). "He's now Bihar's longest serving CM, but can Nitish handle future political challenges?". Newslaundry. Archived from the original on 22 October 2023. Retrieved 22 October 2023.
  2. ^ "Nitish Kumar sworn-in as CM for sixth time: A look at the life of the 'Chanakya of Bihar politics'". Firstpost. PTI. 27 July 2017. Archived from the original on 16 December 2018. Retrieved 2 January 2019.
  3. ^ "Nitish Kumar rejoins Grand Alliance in Bihar after quitting NDA for the second time". Scroll.in. 9 August 2022. Archived from the original on 20 August 2022. Retrieved 9 August 2022.
  4. ^ "Nitish Kumar hits reset, reunites with RJD; oath today | Top Points". India Today. 9 August 2022. Archived from the original on 7 October 2022. Retrieved 7 October 2022.
  5. ^ "Nitish Kumar takes oath as Bihar CM for 9th time; Samrat Chaudhury, Vijay Kumar Sinha to be deputy CMS". 28 January 2024.