Biggest comeback of 2025! How Nitish Kumar got his mojo back

In 2025, Nitish Kumar's governance-first image proved to be JD(U)'s strongest political asset yet again. (File: PTI)

• JD(U) nearly doubled seats in 2025 Bihar polls, boosting Nitish Kumar's power.
• Nitish Kumar wins record 10th term as Chief Minister after JD(U)'s strong performance
• JD(U)'s resurgence boosts its role in Bihar and influence in the NDA.

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For much of the past decade, Nitish Kumar's political career appeared to be on a slow, irreversible decline. Marked by frequent alliance shifts, questions over his health and relevance, an increasingly aggressive Opposition was determined to write him off. Yet, 2025 has upended that narrative and how!

Contrary to expectations, the Janata Dal (United) not only resisted anti-incumbency in Bihar but emerged stronger than ever in the Assembly elections held in October-November. The victory not only reasserted Nitish Kumar's dominance in Bihar but also underlined the JD(U)'s influence and indispensability at the Centre.

The curve of the JD(U)'s revival is a story in itself. In the 2020 Assembly elections, the party could win only 45 seats, establishing the BJP as the senior partner for the first time in the alliance. The JD(U)'s depleted  numbers meant that although BJP continued with Kumar as the chief minister, it did allow the saffron party to station two of its own leaders as deputy chief ministers.

However, the elections held earlier this year saw the JD(U) almost double its tally to 85 seats, just behind the BJP which bagged 89 seats. Despite emerging as the senior partner, the BJP did not insist on appointing its own leader as the Chief Minister and allowed Nitish to continue on the position for a record tenth term.

The strategy of give and take, which also saw the BJP wrest the Home department from Nitish for the first time, was a departure from the Maharashtra model where the BJP managed to evict Shiv Sena's Eknath Shinde and install its own leader Devendra Fadnavis as the CM.

The NDA's victory in Bihar came after it resisted the headwinds that all but consumed the BJP in neighbouring Uttar Pradesh during the Lok Sabha elections in 2024, a factor that prevented the party from a majority on its own for the first time since 2024. Building on the 2024 momentum into strength, 2025 saw the JD(U) emerge in its largest-ever incarnation that not only strengthened its bargaining power within the NDA but also reaffirmed Nitish's reputation as one of India's most resilient political survivors.

The Bihar verdict was even more remarkable as it came in the backdrop of multiple factors stacked against the ruling coalition. Rural distress, governance fatigue after years in power, and a high-decibel campaign by a united Opposition that sought to frame Nitish as yesterday's leader burdened by his own physical and mental health were just to name a few.

Yet, JD(U) managed to blunt these attacks by falling back on Nitish Kumar's governance-first image that proved to be its strongest political asset yet again.

JD(U)'s campaign leaned heavily on continuity and stability, positioning Nitish as the only leader capable of balancing social justice with administrative delivery. The JD(U) focussed on welfare reach, infrastructure, law and order, and the chief minister's long-standing credibility among women, EBCs and sections of the OBC electorate.

The result was a rare feat in contemporary Indian politics when a ruling party did not just survive anti-incumbency but also expanded its footprint. Numerically, the 2025 victory marked a watershed for the party.

JD(U) has never been this dominant within Bihar's political landscape, either as a standalone force or within an alliance. The expanded mandate has significantly strengthened Nitish Kumar's hand within the NDA, where the party now occupies a position of strength both in Bihar and within the NDA nationally.

For the BJP, the JD(U)'s strength is both an asset and a constraint. While the alliance benefits from Nitish's acceptability among voters who remain wary of aggressive ideological politics, JD(U)'s size ensures it cannot be treated as a junior partner. Seat-sharing, policy decisions and leadership optics in Bihar will now require deeper consultation, restoring a balance that had tilted sharply towards the BJP in recent years.

On its part, the JD(U) has also responded by backing the BJP at the Centre on crucial Bills in Parliament, including the contentious ones like on Waqf boards, despite discomfort within a section of the party.

JD(U)'s resurgence was also aided by the Opposition's inability to present a convincing alternative. While the RJD attempted to revive the Mandal-era arithmetic with Tejashwi Yadav at the helm, it struggled to break beyond its core support base and counter the narrative of 'jungle raj' that the NDA had successfully installed in election discourse. Congress, meanwhile, remained organisationally weak, unable to translate the Lok Sabha gains into a credible state-level challenge.

Nitish Kumar's positioning as a moderate, governance-oriented leader helped JD(U) occupy the political middle ground that cut into Opposition support while preventing any large-scale consolidation against him.

Beyond Bihar, JD(U)'s victory also has implications for national politics. With the NDA increasingly reliant on regional allies to maintain political stability, Nitish Kumar's importance in New Delhi has only grown in 2025. This renewed relevance also shields Nitish from speculation about his political sunset.

Instead, 2025 has reframed him as a stabiliser and a leader whose experience, administrative credibility and electoral durability remain his strongest assets. The year also reinforced JD(U)'s role as one of the most consequential regional parties in India's coalition era.

The lesson from 2025 that stands out clearly is that writing off Nitish Kumar will never be a safe political bet.