Unheard stories of Nitish Kumar, the Chief Minister of Bihar

New Delhi, Mar 5: Nitish Kumar's journey from a village boy to an electrical engineer to the Chief Minister of Bihar is a story of relentless struggle and sacrifice. Let's have a look at some of the unheard stories that throw light on how Nitish achieved various milestones in his personal and political life.Childhood:Nitish Kumar's story begins from Bakhtiyarpur, a place 50 Kilometers from Patna, where Nitish was born on Mar 1, 1951. His father, Ramlakahan Singh, was a renowned figure of the area and he used to treat patients with ayurvedic medicines. Nitish's parents used to call him ‘Munna' and it became his nickname. Kalyanbigha also played a very important role in Nitish Kumar's evolution as a leader. This village, adjacent to Bakhtiyarpur, has the ancestral home of Nitish Kumar. The ancestral home is now in dilapidated condition. Nitish Kumar used to visit this village during his vacation. Sitaram, the caretaker of Nitish Kumar's ancestral home, recalls that Nitish used to play with a group of his friends. Whenever they fought with each other over some issues, Nitish will sit under a tree with his friends and try to resolve the issue amicably. Those were perhaps the first signs of leadership traits in Nitish Kumar. School days:Nitish did his matriculation from Ganesh High School of Bakhtiyarpur. Nitish Kumar's teachers say that he was always a very intelligent student. They always thought that he will become an engineer someday but they never imagined that he will go on to become the Chief Minister of the state.Nitish Kumar's father was a Gandhian and was very close to Anugrah Narayan Singh, the then Congress heavyweight in Bihar. He was interested in politics since his childhood. When the news of the then Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shashtri ‘s death broke out, Nitish rushed to his teacher to share the news.There is an interesting story relating to Nitish Kumar's matriculation examination. In mathematics paper, the invigilator snatched papers from his hands the moment time was over. Due to the strict approach of the invigilator, Nitish could not score 100 marks in mathematics and he always regretted it. After becoming the Chief Minister of Bihar, he amended the examination rules under which an examinee was to get 15 minutes extra after stipulated time so that no other student had to face the same disappointment that Nitish had faced during his matriculation exam. Saroj Kumar, the childhood friend of Nitish Kumar, recalls an interesting story of their school days. Nitish and Saroj had to cross a railway station but unfortunately there was no foot over bridge. They decided to cross the station from under a standing freight train. The train suddenly started moving while Nitish and Saroj were still under it. Somehow the two friends saved their lives. When Nitish Kumar became Railway Minister, he got a foot over bridge constructed at that place. Apart from books, Nitish Kumar had deep interest in films as well. He was a big fan of Raj Kapoor. Among heroines, Vaijanti Mala was his favourite.Nitish has done a lot for his ancestral village. Today the village boasts of road, school, hospital, ITI centre and even a modern shooting range. College days: Group of ‘Three Idiots'After clearing matriculation, Nitish Kumar got admission into the prestigious Patna Science College. After two years , he joined Bihar College of Engineering (Now NIT, Patna). Nitish Kumar has always been a none-smoker and teetotaler. He never touched wine or tobacco despite living in a hostel. Narendra Kumar, Nitish Kumar's college mate and presently the president of Bihar Forward Commission, says that just like film ‘Three Idiots' of Aamir Khan, Bihar College of Engineering, at that time, also had a group of three friends. Nitish Kumar, Narendra Kumar and Arun Sinha were part of that group. All three got engineering degrees but none of them continued with profession.Marriage:After completion of his studies, Nitish Kumar married Manju Sinha, a teacher by profession, on Feb 22, 1973. Nitish Kumar refused to take the dowry amount of Rs twenty two thousands. He returned the money and opted for court marriage instead. Formal entry into politics:A young Nitish Kumar joined active politics in 1974 under inspiration from the fiery Jayprakash narayan. Nitish played an important role in JP movement. Nitish Kumar had to face intial failures in politics as he had to face defeat in assembly elections of 1980. Nitish tasted first electoral success in 1985 when he won as an independent candidate in assembly elections. For Nitish Kumar, there was looking back here onwards. Nitish got active in national politics in 1989. He was made general secretary of Janta Dal, a party that was formed under V P Singh's leadership to challenge the hegemony of Congress party. Nitish was elected to the ninth Lok Sabha from Barh constituency in 1989. Nitish was made agriculture minister in V P Singh's government. Nitish represented Barh Lok Sabha constituency from 1989 to 1994 and was part of different governments at the centre.Assembly elections of 2000 threw a fractured mandate and Nitish got the opportunity to take over as the Chief Minister. But he had to resign within 7 days as he failed to muster the required support in assembly.But it was in 2001 when Nitish Kumar emerged as a competent minister and a leader of stature. As Railway Minister, he came across as a no-nonsense and competent minister. As Chief Minister of Bihar:2005 was a turning point in Nitish Kumar's career. In this year, Nitish Kumar led NDA managed to overthrow the 15 years long regime of Lalu-Rabri regime. As Chief Minister of Bihar, Nitish Kumar's biggest challenge was to establish the rule of the law in the state and pave the way for development. Nitish succeeded on both fronts. Bihar is no longer a state struggling with law and order problems. On development front, a lot remains to be done but things at least started moving in the right direction. The people of Bihar reposed faith in Nitish Kumar led NDA once again in 2010 assembly elections. In terms of GDP growth rate, Bihar has emerged as the number one state of the country.Nitish Kumar's journey from Bakhtiyarpur's Munna to Bihar Chief Minister has cost him in terms of his personal relationships. His friends accuse him of getting changed after becoming CM. One of his closest friends, Vijay Krishna, says that Nitish is no longer the same man. But Nitish does not agree with such criticism and denies that he has changed after becoming the CM.Nitish Kumar, in the meantime, is said to have developed prime ministerial ambitions as well. That is one reason why he has emerged as a vocal opponent of Narendra Modi's emergence as NDA's prime ministerial candidate.