Bihar’s political soap opera: Nitish vs Lalu, Kishor, Paswan

Once called “Sushan Babu” (good administrator) in admiration of his transformation of Bihar from “jungle raj,” the 74-year-old Nitish Kumar, Bihar’s Chief Minister, is now derisively called “Kursi Kumar” (chair Kumar) — a nod to his insatiable appetite for power — and “Paltu Chacha” (for his breathtaking political somersaults across the ideological spectrum).

For the first time in Bihar politics, a diminished Kumar — who has presided over the most lacklustre administration (trusting only four senior officials), cut off from the political pulse and even his party, with son Nishant Kumar, 50, a permanent watchful presence — is not dominating the political discourse in hyper-political Bihar.