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Dubbed as "sushasan babu" and "paltu ram" or "paltu chacha," Nitish Kumar has emerged as the best bet for the ruling alliance of the NDA. Considered an invincible warhorse by friends and foes alike, allies and detractors, the Bihar chief minister has been criticized for not taking the litmus test or going for baptism by fire. Nitish Kumar has been slammed for not taking the plunge and going directly to the masses before taking the reins of the state. The suave politician, who has been serving as the state's chief minister since 2005, has not sought the people's mandate for a long time. Nitish Kumar's last election The last time Nitish Kumar won an assembly election was in 1995, when he contested from the Harnaut Assembly Constituency in Nalanda district. As a Samata Party candidate, he defeated Vishwa Mohan Chaudhary of the Janata Party. It is the same Harnaut constituency that catapulted him into the electoral politics of Bihar for the first time. Nitish Kumar contested the 1985 Bihar Assembly election from Harnaut on a Lok Dal ticket. He defeated Congress candidate Virjnandan Prasad Singh. (Nitish Kumar was elected to Lok Sabha six times.) Nitish Kumar's political journey Nitish Kumar entered the Lok Sabha for the first time in 1989 when he was elected from Barh. He represented the Barh Lok Sabha constituency for five consecutive terms, from 1989 to 1999. After Barh ceased to exist following the delimitation exercise, the veteran politician contested the 2004 Lok Sabha election from two constituencies, Barh and Nalanda. While Nitish Kumar lost in Barh, he was elected from Nalanda. Bihar CM Nitish Kumar The veteran politician, who has been on a whirlwind election campaign for weeks for the candidates of his party and allies, is not contesting the election this time. He is a member of the legislative council, the upper house of the bicameral Bihar Assembly. He became a member of the Bihar Vidhan Parishad, or the legislative assembly, for the first time in 2006 after becoming the chief minister of the state. At present, Nitish Kumar is an MLC; he is in his fourth term.
