Five factors why Nitish Kumar remains key to NDA's win in Bihar

Nitish Kumar became Bihar CM for the first time in 2000.

JD(U) President Nitish Kumar, who has enjoyed an uninterrupted run of almost two decades as the chief minister of Bihar, once again proved that he is still a force to reckon with. As per initial trends on Friday, the JD(U) was leading in over 70 seats.

However, once the election was announced in Bihar, the CM became the much-condemned politician of the state.

Rumours doubt his cognitive sharpness.

Opposition leaders, including RJD leader Tejaswhwi Yadav and Jan Suraaj chief Prashant Kishor, highlighted the CM’s inability to lead and urged him to step down. With visible signs of fatigue and mindlessness, Nitish Kumar had earned the title, "Biden of Bihar".

But with Friday’s performance, Nitish once again proved that his imprint on Bihar’s contemporary politics can’t be denied.

Past electoral trends show that women have been one of the key votaries of Nitish cutting across caste lines. The 2025 assembly election showed several striking statistics. Bihar saw an unprecedented 71.6% women vote.

Since he assumed office in 2005, his welfare initiatives—from the cycle and uniform schemes for girls to prohibition and employment programmes—portrayed Bihar as a state aimed at maternal welfare. His schemes providing free education for girls and increasing pensions for widows over time built a strong support base that continues to hold good.

Also, his strategic use of women’s self-help networks through the Jeevika Didi programme expanded the JD(U)’s grassroots presence beyond caste lines.

Nitish’s 'Mukhyamantri Mahila Rozgar Yojana', which led to the direct transfer of Rs 10,000 to the accounts of over one crore women in the state, may also have acted as a game changer.

The DBT schemes recently played a key role in helping parties win in Delhi, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand and West Bengal.

‘Jungle raj’ had been one of the strongest narratives around Bihar's safety ecosystem during the regime of Lalu Prasa Yadav. The CM has invoked the infamous epithet or its political connotation on several occasions during the campaigns. He is widely credited with significantly improving the initial law and order situation in the state after he took office in 2005.

The CM enjoys the support of several OBC and non-Jatav backward-caste constituencies who are distrustful of abrupt national realignments. His strength rests on a carefully cultivated base of voters comprising the Kurmi-Koeri communities (7%), Extremely Backward Classes (EBCs, at 26%), Mahadalits, and women.

Nitish was initially not officially endorsed by his ally BJP for an extended tenure as CM. However, posters and billboards announcing “25 se 30, Phir se Nitish” were spotted across the city. That an NDA government in the state could have a chief minister other than Nitish has never struck voters. Eventually, the BJP said it was fighting under Nitish’s leadership and he is NDA’s CM face.

Despite flip-flops from BJP to RJD to BJP again, Nitish Kumar proved to be a survivor in a time of emperors. After decades of shifts and re-alignments, his continuing to sit in the Chief Minister’s chair makes him Bihar's most durable political force.