Copyright thehindubusinessline
Nine term Chief Minister of Bihar Nitish Kumar has lost neither his popular appeal nor his strong support base in the State despite his obvious failing health and backroom manoeuvres by his ally, the BJP, to unseat him. The assembly elections commenced this year in Bihar with an indication of Kumar’s uncertain future with the Home Minister Amit Shah saying that he will lead the campaign, but the decision on who will be Chief Minister will be taken after the results. Numerous videos magnifying his deteriorating health surfaced on the social media and his rivals pointed to the detractors planted in his party, the Janata Dal (United), by the BJP with the eventual aim to topple him once the elections are over. But, talking to different sections of the people on the ground, it is clear that ill-health or not, Kumar remains the only leader with a pan-Bihar appeal. For someone holding the highest office in the State for two decades, there is practically no personal ill will against Kumar, even among his political rivals. An RJD leader, talking anonymously, told businessline: “We are contesting an election against him. But that does not take away my personal regard for Nitish Kumar.” According to Guddu Rajak, a JD(U) worker mobilising support for the party’s Phulwari candidate Shyam Rajak, people will not accept anyone other than Kumar as Chief Minister. “Show one leader in the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) who has the stature to replace Nitish Kumar,” said Shah Jaheed Hussain, a former municipal councillor in Phulwari. Kumar has single-handedly created a support base among women, a caste-neutral chunk, and the Extremely Backward Classes (EBCs) in Bihar. In his different tenures, a slurry of women-centric schemes have been launched, prominently 50 per cent reservation for women in Panchayats and Urban Local Bodies, 35 per cent reservation in government jobs, reservation in police recruitment, the free bicycle scheme, financial incentive to girls upon passing their intermediate and graduation examinations, the Jeevika scheme to organise women into Self-Help Groups (SHGs) and many others. In the ongoing elections, ₹10,000 is being disbursed to women under the Mukhyamantri Mahila Rozgar Yojna. “I haven’t got ₹10,000 from the government. But Nitish has been good for us. We will see who we vote for this time but Nitish will be Chief Minister,” said Rama Devi. Across political spectrum in Bihar, there are hushed discussions about his health, the frequent lapses into forgetfulness and the inability to keep his flock together with some of the top leaders in the JD(U) working actively for the BJP. “How long can he hold his flock together? He once called a party leader three times in a span of two hours with the same question which had already been answered. But the problem is that there is no one in the BJP or the JD(U) who can come anywhere near replacing him,” said a JD(U) leader. For the moment, however, the BJP has realised that it does not help to undermine Kumar in an election. Since his first stirring of doubt, the Home Minister has announced in multiple public rallies that “there is no vacancy for CM post” and each NDA ally – from Chirag Paswan of the Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) and Upendra Kushwaha of the Rashtriya Lok Samta Party (RLSP) adn Jitan Ram Manjhi of the Hindustan Awam Morcha (HAM) – has asserted that Nitish Kumar “was, is and will be Chief Minister of Bihar”. Even in his decline, Kumar remains indispensable for the NDA. Published on November 1, 2025
