'Tiger Abhi Zinda Hai': A Lookback At 'Sushasan Babu' Nitish Kumar's 20 Years At Helm In Bihar

Patna: Nitish Kumar created history on Thursday by taking oath as the Chief Minister of Bihar for the record 10th time, becoming the first Chief Minister in India to do so. The 75-year-old chief of the Janata Dal (United) has held the CM's post for nearly 20 years. The NDA ally served as the Chief Minister of Bihar even when Opposition alliance Mahagathbandhan was in power in the state. He has often been termed ‘Paltu Ram’ for changing his allies to stay in power. However, the grip of the 'Sushasan Babu' on the post for decades is a remarkable feat for a politician.

As Nitish Kumar is embarking on the journey as the CM for the 10th time, let's have a look at all of his past nine terms:

1. CM For 7 Days

25 years ago, Nitish Kumar made his debut as the Chief Minister of Bihar on March 3, 2000 as a member of the Samata Party, which was in alliance with the BJP.

Nitish Kumar was serving as a Union Minister when he was chosen as Bihar's CM. His appointment came after the Bihar Assembly elections of 2000 delivered a hung verdict, with both Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and National Democratic Alliance (NDA) failing to achieve the majority mark of 163 seats in the Assembly. The BJP–Samata Party-led NDA won 122 seats, while Lalu Prasad Yadav’s RJD secured 124 seats.

The then Governor of Bihar, Vinod Chandra Pande, called Kumar to form the government, with the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government backing his appointment from the Centre.

Kumar's term, however, lasted only for seven days as he failed to gather enough support during the vote of confidence in the Bihar Assembly. His government fell on March 11, 2000, ending his first term as the Chief Minister of Bihar.

2. Lalu's 15-Year Rule Ends

Following a victory in the Bihar Assembly elections in 2005, Nitish Kumar made a comeback and became the new Chief Minister of Bihar by toppling Lalu Prasad Yadav's wife Rabri Devi from the seat.

The clinching of the post by Kumar was historic in 2005 as well because he had ended the 15-year rule of Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader and his former close friend Lalu Prasad Yadav. Lalu Yadav had held the reign of Bihar since 1990, with his wife ruling the seat since 1997 as he was forced to resign after being arrested in the Fodder Scam case.

Nitish's second term was his first full term as the Bihar Chief Minister.

3. Resignation After General Polls

Nitish Kumar reclaimed the post on November 2010 with BJP as his ally. However, he left the BJP-led NDA after Narendra Modi was declared as its Prime Ministerial candidate.

After the results of the 2014 Lok Sabha elections were out, he ended his term by voluntarily resigning on May 17, 2014.

He resigned out of moral responsibility after his party, Janata Dal (United), performed poorly and won just two seats in the Lok Sabha elections. Kumar's close aide Jitan Ram Manjhi took over the post of Bihar Chief Minister after his resignation. Manjhi was often criticised as the “dummy chief minister” during his tenure.

Kumar gave a public apology in 2015 and expressed his will to again become the CM. However, Manjhi refused to resign and was expelled from the party. He finally resigned before a trust vote, which he was likely to lose.

4. Brief 4th Term 

After the resignation of Manjhi, Nitish Kumar took oath as the Bihar CM for the 4th time on February 22, 2015. His 4th term was of just nine months, since it was a transitional phase after the resignation of Manjhi. Kumar's fate was to be decided again in the 2015 Bihar Assembly elections, which he fought along with RJD and Congress under the Mahagathbandhan or the Grand Alliance.

5. Nitish Wins Under Prashant Kishor's Campaign

The Mahagathbandhan won the 2015 Bihar Assembly elections, securing a total of 178 seats. Notably, Kumar's 2015 campaign was managed by poll strategist Prashant Kishor, who years later in 2025 would form his own political party (Jan Suraaj Party) against Kumar.

Lalu Yadav's son Tejashwi Yadav served as the Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar in Kumar's 5th term.

6. Nitish Switches Sides

Nitish Kumar resigned from his post in July 2017 after Tejashwi Yadav refused to give up his post despite corruption allegations against him. He also broke ties with the Mahagathbandhan and joined the NDA. Hours after his resignation, he again took oath as the Chief Minister, this time in alliance with the NDA.

7. 7th Term

Nitish Kumar started his 7th term after his party, in alliance with the NDA, won the 2020 Bihar Assembly elections. The NDA secured a majority in the elections with 125 seats. However, in 2022 he broke ties with the NDA again.

8. Nitish Flips Again

Nitish Kumar assumed the Chief Minister’s office for the eighth time in 2022 after breaking away from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and forming a government with the RJD, Congress, and Left parties. From 2022 to 2024, he played a key role in bringing opposition parties together to take on the BJP in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. In June 2023, he convened the first major meeting of these parties, months before they formally adopted the name INDIA bloc.

However, Kumar flipped again and broke ties with the Rashtriya Janata Dal-Congress-led Mahagathbandhan. He resigned from the Chief Minister's post on January 28, 2025, leading to a political crisis in Bihar.

9. Nitish Back In NDA

After breaking ties with Mahagathbandhan, Nitish Kumar rejoined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA). He took oath as Bihar CM for the 9th time on January 28, 2025, ending the political crisis in the state. His ninth term as Chief Minister of Bihar lasted 661 days.

10. Historic 10th Term

On November 20, 2025, Nitish Kumar took oath as the Chief Minister of Bihar for the record 10th time. The 75-year-old won the 2025 Bihar Assembly elections in alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party and Chirag Paswan's Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas). His party clinched victory on 85 seats, while the BJP won 89 seats.

Despite rumours and controversies regarding changing the NDA's Chief Ministerial face, Kumar was unanimously elected the leader of both the JD(U) Legislature Party and the NDA Legislature Party during meetings with newly-elected MLAs.

The 10th oath-taking ceremony of Nitish Kumar was graced by the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah, among others.

Also Read- ‘Bihar Me Aayi Bahar Hai’: NDA Leaders Hail 'Historic Mandate' As Nitish Kumar Takes Oath