Amidst the din of SIR and its impact on the upcoming round of Assembly elections came the most unexpected development—Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar filing his nomination for the Rajya Sabha elections. That means soon, probably by mid-April, he would step down from the post he has been holding as dear as life for nearly 20 years. He has already gone down in the annals of history as the longest-serving chief minister in Bihar, a record unlikely to be broken in the foreseeable future.

It was explained that towards the fag-end of his long political career, Nitish Kumar wants to create another record that few can match, that is, being a member of all four legislative bodies. He has already served as an MLA and MLC in Bihar and as a member of the Lok Sabha. The Rajya Sabha is the only legislative body he has not been a member of so far.

This sounds nice but unpalatable, that too when he could have created the most enviable record of becoming the longest-serving chief minister of any Indian state by completing his current term. He is set to bow out of the office as the eighth-longest-serving chief minister. It is ludicrous to buy the theory that Nitish Kumar is quitting to fulfil his wish to serve as a Rajya Sabha member.

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