HomeNewsPhotosPoliticsNitish Kumar, the man of many U-turns: Here's a timeline of his changing political alliances
Nitish Kumar, the man of many U-turns: Here's a timeline of his changing political alliances
Nitish Kumar, seen as one of the architects of the Opposition INDIA bloc, is set to rejoin the BJP-led NDA for a third time. With his resignation as the Bihar CM earlier in the day, the JD(U) chief has dumped the Mahagathbandhan or the grand alliance — for the second time in the past seven years. Here's a look at his political career marked by several U-turns.
Less than a year after Nitish Kumar said he would "rather die than allying the BJP", the Bihar chief minister is once again set to form an alliance with the saffron party. In the process, he has resigned as the CM, and is expected to shortly take oath as the CM again, for the ninth time. Here's a look at Kumar's political career over the past four decades, and the various U-turns that it entails.
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Nitish, who entered public life during the anti-Emergency agitation in mid 1970s, marked his electoral debut in 1985. He was elected as an MLA in the Bihar Assembly from the Janata Dal. His first political switch was recorded in 1994, when he defected from the party to form a new political entity - Samata Party - alongside veteran socialist leader George Fernandes. In 1996, he was elected to the Lok Sabha on the Samata Party ticket, and emerged as one of the key allies of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
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Between 1998 and 2004, Nitish headed several Union ministries, including the crucial portfolios of railways and transport, in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government. He was also sworn-in as the Bihar chief minister for the first time in 2000, with support from the BJP. However, he had to resign within a few days as he did not have the numbers to pass the floor test.
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In 2003, the Samata Party of Nitish and Fernandes merged with the Janata Dal faction headed by Sharad Yadav, to form the Janata Dal (United) or the JD(U). The party, in an alliance with the BJP, succeeded in ending the Lalu Prasad Yadav-led Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD)'s 15-year rule in Bihar by winning the 2005 Assembly elections. Under Nitish's leadership, the JD(U)-BJP alliance retained power in the 2010 state polls. However, the cracks emerged after the BJP projected Narendra Modi as its prime ministerial candidate for the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. Nitish, who has stressed on his secular credentials throughout his political career, decided to snap ties with the BJP in 2013.
After facing a rout in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, Nitish formed the Mahagathbandhan or the grand alliance with the RJD and Congress to jointly take on the BJP in the 2015 Bihar Assembly elections. The grand alliance won, and Nitish continued as the chief minister. The Bihar CM, however, made another flip within two years, as he returned to the NDA fold in 2017. In the 2020 polls, he succeeded in retaining power, but the BJP emerged as the bigger alliance partner with 74 seats, whereas, the JD(U) was reduced to 43 MLAs.
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In 2022, Nitish again took a U-turn, as he snapped ties with the BJP to rejoin the Mahagathbandhan. The shift in his political affiliation came amidst accusations levelled against the BJP of trying to engineer a split within the JD(U) ranks. However, Nitish's reunion with the RJD and Congress lasted less than two years, as he broke ties with both the parties and resigned as the CM on January 28. He is set to take oath against the Bihar CM, for a record ninth time, with support from the BJP MLAs.
