Nitish Kumar (Politician)

Some Lesser Known Facts About Nitish Kumar

• His father, Kaviraj Ram Lakhan Singh, was interested in politics. He was well-known as a freedom fighter and worked closely with Anurag Narayan Sinha, who was deeply committed to Gandhian principles. Nitish’s mother belonged to Nepal.

• Before India gained independence, Kaviraj Ram volunteered with the Indian National Congress and joined the freedom movement. In 1952, Nitish Kumar’s father wanted to contest for the Vidhan Sabha (state legislature), but he was not given the chance. When the same thing happened again in 1957, Kaviraj Ram then joined the Janata Party.

• Growing up in this political environment, Nitish Kumar was inclined towards politics. He did not feel comfortable in the engineering job he initially took up in Bihar State Electricity Board for some time, and later, shifted to politics.

• According to some media sources, Nitish Kumar’s wedding was arranged with a dowry of Rs. 22,000. His father, Kaviraj Ram Lakhan Singh, received this money when they agreed to the marriage. When Nitish found out, he became upset and insisted that the dowry should be returned right away. His family then returned the dowry. The couple had a court marriage. ^[19]NDTV

  

• He was an activist of the J.P. Movement from 1974 to 1977. He was detained in 1974 under the Maintenance of Internal Security Act (M.I.S.A). In 1975, he was again detained during the Emergency.

  

• When he was young, he was highly influenced by the Indian politicians Jayaprakash Narayan, Ram Manohar Lohia, Karpoori Thakur, S N Sinha, and V.P. Singh.

  

• Soon, he then joined the Janata party headed by Satyendra Narain Sinha.

• As a member of the Indian delegation, Nitish Kumar visited Singapore, Thailand, Havana (Cuba), and Moscow (Russia) for the World Youth Festival in 1978. He then travelled to Australia and France as a member of the Indian Parliamentary Delegation to the IPU Conference.

• In 1985, he was first elected to the Bihar Legislative Assembly as an independent candidate. Initially, he supported Lalu Prasad Yadav as the leader of the opposition in the Bihar Assembly in 1989. However, Kumar changed sides and started supporting the BJP in 1996 after winning his first Lok Sabha seat from Barh.

  

• In 1994, the Janata Dal party faced challenges when Nitish Kumar and George Fernandes left to form the Samata Party. However, it faced bigger problems when Lalu Prasad Yadav decided to form the Rashtriya Janata Dal in 1997. Another split happened before Rabri Devi took power, which left only two important leaders in the Janata Dal i.e. Sharad Yadav and Ram Vilas Paswan.

  

• In the 1998 Parliamentary elections, when the Samata Party and Janata Dal were weakened by the formation of RJD, Kumar merged both parties to form Janata Dal (United).

• His work as the Union minister for railways from 1998 to 2004 was highly appreciated as he improved the condition of the railways during his tenure.

  

• During his tenure as Railway Minister, he visited France, Switzerland, and the UK. As the Agriculture Minister, he attended the Regional Conference of FAO in Yokohama, Japan.

• In the 1999 Lok Sabha elections, the Rashtriya Janata Dal suffered a lapse after the BJP and JD(U) alliance. Despite fighting alongside the Congress, RJD’s image was degraded due to Lalu Prasad Yadav‘s involvement in the Fodder Scam which led Congress to contest solo in the 2000 assembly elections.

• In August 1999, he resigned after the Gaisal train disaster and took responsibility for the mishappening. During his time as Railway Minister, he made significant changes, like introducing internet ticket booking in 2002 and opening many ticket booking counters. He
  also started the Tatkal scheme for instant booking.

  

• In March 2000, Nitish became the Chief Minister of Bihar for the first time, with support from the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Government at the centre. Meanwhile, he also took charge as the Minister of Agriculture for the second time. From 2001 to May 2004, he served as the Union Minister for Railways once again.

  

• In the 2004 Lok Sabha elections, he contested from two constituencies; won from Nalanda but lost in the Barh constituency.

• According to Nitish Kumar, when he became the Chief Minister of Bihar, he faced many challenges including a poor law and order situation marked by organized criminal gangs and rampant kidnapping, as well as the persistent threat of left-wing extremism in certain backward areas of Bihar. To address these issues, Kumar implemented the Arms Act and established special courts for quick convictions.

• Thereafter, Kumar formed the Special Auxiliary Police (SAP), comprised of retired army officials and soldiers, to tackle the Maoist revolts in Bihar. This initiative not only provided economic opportunities for retired military personnel but also equipped Bihar Police with professionally trained commandos at a low budget.

  

• After winning the 2005 Bihar Assembly elections, Nitish took oath as the chief minister. He then introduced the Special Vigilance Unit (SVU) in Bihar to investigate high-level corruption cases. For example, the successful prosecution of officials like former Director General of Police Narayan Mishra in 2007. ^[20]Hindustan Times

• Thereafter, Kumar started reforms in the state’s police recruitment process to assure justice and clearness. He implemented measures like the “Carbon Copy system” in written examinations to prevent interference and partiality.

• On 14 May 2007, his wife, Manju Kumari Sinha, died in New Delhi. She was suffering from pneumonia. ^[21]Hindustan Times

  

• During his tenure as the Chief Minister of Bihar, Kumar reformed prison rules in Bihar such as installing mobile phone jammers to catch criminal activities operated from within prisons and implementing the ‘All India Prison Reforms’ program issued by the Supreme Court of India.

• In 2010, Nitish’s party won again, along with its supporter, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and he resumed his role as Chief Minister.

  

• His government established an ‘Anti-Terrorist Squad’ after the Bodhgaya blasts in 2013, which reportedly improved the law and order situation in Bihar. Meanwhile, Kumar also focused on empowering the Extremely Backward Castes (EBCs) through political representation and reservation policies.

  

• There are 2 biographies written on him: “Single Man: The Life And Times of Nitish Kumar of Bihar” by Sankarshan Thakur and “Nitish Kumar and The Rise of Bihar” by Arun Sinha.

  

• His only son, Nishant is a graduate of Birla Institute of Technology (BIT), Mesra, and reportedly, Nishant is 3 times richer than Nitish Kumar.

  

• Nitish briefly served a fourth term as a Chief Minister in 2015. On 26 July 2017, he resigned as the Chief Minister of Bihar after breaking the alliance with RJD and INC. The next day, within 24 hours after resigning from the post of the Chief Minister of Bihar, Nitish Kumar was sworn in as the Chief Minister of Bihar for the 6th time with the support of the BJP and the NDA.

  

• On 8 December 2020, his deputy Sushil Kumar Modi was elected to the Rajya Sabha from Bihar after the demise of Ram Vilas Paswan. As a result, Nitish resigned on 16 August 2020 but later returned as Chief Minister with new deputies Tarkishore Prasad and Renu Devi.

• On 9 August 2022, Nitish ended his alliance with the BJP. He resigned as chief minister and cut his ties with the NDA. He then rejoined the Mahagathbandhan, which included RJD, INC, CPI, and others, to form a new governing coalition. He was sworn in as the chief minister for the eighth time on 10 August 2022, marking 22 years in office.

• In 2022, his father’s, Kaviraj Ram Lakhan Singh’s, statue was unveiled in Bihar to honour his contributions to the independence of India.

  

• On 28 January 2024, Nitish resigned again and dissolved the Mahagathbandhan alliance with RJD and Congress. He rejoined the BJP-led NDA alliance and became Chief Minister of Bihar for the ninth time in 24 years on the same day.

  

• He introduced the “Jankari Scheme,” the electronic version of the RTI Act in Bihar during his tenure as a chief minister.

• Nitish Kumar gets a lot of criticism for frequently changing his alliances in politics just to stay as chief minister. Because of this, people call him “Paltu Ram,” meaning someone who changes sides often. Another thing people criticize him for is never running in any elections throughout his career. ^[22]The Week

• He likes eating chuda-dahi, practising daily yoga, and maintaining a simple dinner. During campaign days, he opts for homemade rotis, vegetables, curd, pickles, tea, and bhunja/poha, with a total sleep duration of five to six hours per night.

  

• He is a teetotaler and non-smoker. He is known in his party for his mild manners and soft speaking style. ^[23]Nitish Kumar; Bridging Bihar