Bihar is gearing up for a crucial two-phase assembly election scheduled for November 6 and 11, with the counting of votes set to take place on November 14. Political activity is intensifying across the state, with parties holding back-to-back meetings to finalise seat-sharing arrangements and candidate lists. In some cases, party symbols have already been distributed to candidates even before formal seat-sharing agreements are concluded.
The Janata Dal (United) and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have finalised their alliance, announcing a 101-101 seat-sharing pact between the two parties.
Nitish Kumar’s unique electoral journey
Veteran politician Nitish Kumar remains a central figure in Bihar politics. He holds the record for serving as the state's Chief Minister eight times. His first term began in 2000, and his most recent stint ended in January 2024, after rejoining the National Democratic Alliance (NDA). The ongoing term is Nitish’s ninth term as CM. Over the years, he has helmed governments formed in alliance with both the BJP and the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD).
Interestingly, despite serving multiple terms as Chief Minister, Nitish Kumar has not contested or won an assembly election during any of his tenures. Instead, he has been a member of the Bihar Legislative Council. The last time he won an assembly election was in 1995, when he contested from the Harnaut Assembly Constituency in Nalanda district. Running on a Samata Party ticket, he defeated Vishwa Mohan Chaudhary of the Janata Party.
Before this, he contested the 1985 Bihar Assembly election from the Harnaut constituency on a Lok Dal ticket and emerged victorious, defeating Congress candidate Virjnandan Prasad Singh.
He went on to represent the Barh Lok Sabha constituency for five consecutive terms—in 1989, 1991, 1996, 1998, and 1999. However, Barh ceased to exist following the delimitation exercise.
In the 2004 Lok Sabha elections, he contested from two constituencies: Barh and Nalanda. While he lost in Barh, he secured a win in Nalanda.
Will Nitish bite the bullet this time?
The big question remains whether Nitish Kumar will contest the upcoming Assembly elections. While the legislative council has always been a safe route for him, he might be reluctant to take the risk of directly contesting an Assembly seat this time as well. Moreover, the NDA has not yet officially declared him as its chief ministerial candidate in Bihar. Considering his advancing age and a long, illustrious political career, Nitish may feel it’s neither necessary nor strategically wise to enter the electoral fray again.
