New Delhi: When the results of the 2020 Bihar assembly elections were announced, political analysts and social media commentators rushed to write Nitish Kumar’s political obituary. For the first time in nearly two decades, his party JD(U) had fallen below 50 seats. Although the NDA retained power and Nitish once again became chief minister, the aura around him dimmed. The BJP had surged past 70 seats while JD(U) slipped to third place behind the RJD and its own ally. The murmurs began immediately — that the BJP would now assert its dominance and eventually nudge Nitish out of the chair he had occupied since 2005.

But in 2022, Nitish Kumar again demonstrated why he remains one of India’s most enigmatic political survivors. In a move driven by sheer political instinct, he dumped the BJP and returned to the RJD-led Mahagathbandhan. Analysts predicted that, with a much smaller legislature party, Nitish would be overshadowed by the RJD. There was talk that he might eventually hand over the chief ministership to Tejashwi Yadav. Instead, Nitish once again took oath as chief minister — while leaving a symbolic room for Tejashwi to step in “eventually”.

Yet dissatisfaction within the Mahagathbandhan........

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