New Delhi: The seven-day chief ministerial stint of 2000 has come to revisit Nitish Kumar. This time, perhaps for a full five-year term.
It has been a tough political journey for Bihar's new chief minister.
THE BEGINNING
The JD(U) leader has seen it all. Born in 1951 in Bakhtiyarpur district, he hails from a well-to-do family of Harnaut in Bihar.
He hails from the powerful Kurmi caste.
His political graph started in 1974 when he joined the Janata Party as an activist.
He was elected to the Bihar Assembly in 1985 and walked into the Lok Sabha just four years later in 1989.
He was elected to the Lok Sabha from Barh constituency and has been re-elected from there five times since.
And together with Lalu, he established himself as a leader of the backward masses.
Back then, he shared the dias with the then old friend, and the now arch rival Lalu Prasad.
Differences in the Nitish-Lalu political ideology led to their split-up and the formation of Samta Party in 1994. It was then when he joined hands with George Fernandes.
THE RISE
The unexpected twists and turns of Indian politics and Nitish's ability to forge alliances got him the Railway Ministry in Vajpayee's cabinet in 1998.
Ironically, in 1990, it was Nitish who had supported Lalu decision to arrest BJP leader LK Advani during his rath yatra in Bihar.
WHAT LIES AHEAD
A quieter and more sober Nitish has a tough task ahead.
Having brought the Lalu-Rabri rule to a dead end now, he needs to undo what the couple have done to the state.
But it will not be an easy task to rule a state that is fast falling off the development map.
(with inputs from Savvy Sowmya)
Comments
0 comment