As Bihar gears up for the 2025 Assembly elections, chief minister Nitish Kumar finds himself at a crossroads.
Once hailed as “Sushasan Babu”, a moniker symbolising clean governance and efficient administration, Nitish is now battling a credibility crisis, both within his alliance and among the people of Bihar.
Despite strides in infrastructure, his image has taken a dramatic hit, and critics say he no longer appears to be in control of his government.
Fading image
Since the 2020 elections, the political configuration in Bihar has remained relatively stable.
The Mahagathbandhan (Grand Alliance) and the NDA remain the two dominant forces, with Chirag Paswan’s Lok Janshakti Party now formally part of the NDA fold.
Yet the public perception of Nitish has shifted drastically.
Where once he was seen as a guardian of law, order and governance, today some voices within and outside the NDA are questioning whether he can still wield authority
effectively.
Crime erodes appeal
At the heart of Nitish’s initial appeal was his tough stand on the “3Cs” — crime, corruption and communalism. But a spate of violent crimes, including the recent murder of prominent businessman Gopal Khemka near Patna’s Gandhi Maidan, has shaken public faith in his governance.
Khemka’s murder mirrored the fate of his son five years earlier. The fact that the killing took place just 300m from a police station made matters worse for the government. Even Chirag and deputy chief minister Vijay Kumar Sinha have openly questioned the competence of the state police.
In the past six months, eight businessmen have been murdered across Bihar, with 115 murders reported in Patna in the last four months. The surge in violence has stirred comparisons with the “Jungle Raj” of the 1990s — a term Nitish had once used to describe the Lalu-Rabri regime. “Right now, I don’t know if there’s a difference between Lalu Raj and Nitish Raj,” said a grieving relative of Khemka.
Corruption cloud
While Nitish’s personal probity has not been questioned, the same cannot be said for those close to him. The RJD MP from Buxar has accused relatives of Nitish’s principal secretary, Deepak Kumar, of influencing state-funded projects. Sanjeev Hans, another close bureaucratic aide, is facing charges of money laundering and maintaining 70 bank accounts. A senior IAS officer has been accused of awarding contracts to relatives.
The approval of over ₹76,000 crore for construction projects in December
2024 has raised eyebrows. Opposition leaders have pointed to collapsing bridges, flyovers without approach roads and departments refusing to take possession of completed buildings in support of their allegation of “major kickbacks”.
Even NDA MLAs, albeit privately, admit that corruption at the grassroots is rampant. The JDU, however, has rubbished the charges. “Tejashwi has nothing to do with development. He did not undertake any major development work while he was deputy chief minister and is now levelling baseless charges,” said JDU spokesperson Neeraj Kumar.
Communal concerns
Despite his alliance with the BJP, Nitish has long enjoyed pockets of Muslim support because of his secular image. However, his endorsement of the Waqf Amendment Act has dented that. Former MLA Akhlaq Ahmad said the move had unified the Muslims against the NDA. “There is no anger against Nitish personally, but the community sees him as too weak to challenge the BJP,” he said.
Who’s in charge?
Perhaps the most unsettling shift is the growing perception that Nitish is no longer mentally or politically in control. Over the past two years, his erratic public behaviour, such as putting a pot on a bureaucrat’s head or attempting to touch Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s feet, has sparked whispers about his mental health.
The composition of newly reconstituted state committees has drawn fire for blatant nepotism.