In March 2000, Nitish Kumar, chief minister (CM) for seven days, was facing a trust vote in the Bihar legislative assembly. He needed a minimum of 12 legislators to prove his majority on the floor of the house. Had it been today, with 20 independents and 23 Congress MLAs, it would have been a cake walk. But those were different times.

At that time, Lalu Prasad’s RJD with 124 members was the single largest political party in the assembly. Nitish’s Samata Party had only 34 seats. Supported by the BJP, he had the backing of 151 MLAs. This support was the key factor that influenced the governor to ask him to stake a claim to form the government. Since Nitish became the CM, rumours were rife that Lalu’s associate Shahabuddin had ringfenced 23 Congress MLAs. Nitish was helpless. In a decade of his rule, Lalu had uniquely modified the Bihar administration. It was impossible to root out the “system” in just seven days.

Nitish bowed out after an emotional speech. “Bihar’s public is witnessing how democracy is being held hostage. A majority attained........

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