Benjamin Franklin ostensibly stated as soon as: “There are solely two certainties in life – dying and taxes.” Little did he know, there is a third: Nitish Kumar taking oath as Bihar Chief Minister. Since his first oath when he lasted seven days, Nitish Kumar has taken oath as Chief Minister a complete of 9 occasions (six occasions as a part of NDA and thrice as a part of MGB), which implies that very similar to Thanos, the election consequence is perhaps doubtful however the oath-taking is inevitable. However past the political endurance check lies a surprisingly fascinating man. Listed below are ten outstanding information about Nitish Kumar:
1. The engineer who almost give up politics
Earlier than he turned the default CM of Bihar, Nitish Kumar was a mild-mannered engineer on the Bihar State Electrical energy Board. He misplaced his first two elections and, in response to associates, severely considered abandoning politics for a enterprise profession. Patna’s voltage fluctuations could have been extra predictable than Bihar’s politics, however he selected the chaos anyway.
2. “Munna” from Bakhtiarpur
His childhood nickname was “Munna” — and to his previous associates, he nonetheless is. Not the Chief Minister, not the coalition negotiator, however the quiet boy from Bakhtiarpur who most popular books to folks and routines to revelry. The identify caught longer than a few of his alliances.
3. The no-dowry groom
When Nitish married Manju Kumari Sinha in 1973, he insisted on a no-dowry marriage ceremony — a radical stand in small-town Bihar of the 70s. It created friction within the household however he did not budge. For a person well-known for political flexibility, this was one second the place he refused to compromise.
4. The spouse who funded his first huge marketing campaign
When he contested the 1985 Meeting election, Nitish did not have cash. Manju did. The schoolteacher quietly handed him her financial savings — about ₹20,000 — to run his marketing campaign. Bihar’s future CM was, in a really literal approach, financed by a government-school payslip.
5. Film night time with Amitabh Bachchan
Nitish Kumar is a correct, unapologetic Bollywood buff. In 2011, he even hosted a particular screening of Aarakshan in Patna with Amitabh Bachchan in attendance. Huge B flew in, Nitish confirmed up, and for one night Bihar’s chief minister swapped recordsdata for movies. If you happen to ever wanted proof that cinema runs deep in Bihar’s cultural bloodstream, that second says all of it.
6. Teesri Kasam: his all-time favourite movie
His shut circle swears that his absolute favourite movie is Teesri Kasam, the Raj Kapoor–Waheeda Rehman basic. And this is the very Nitish twist: when he turned CM, he had the federal government display screen Teesri Kasam throughout rural Bihar utilizing cellular cinema vans — full with breaks for welfare-scheme bulletins. Solely Nitish might flip a beloved artwork movie right into a governance software, even when it led to a copyright dispute.
7. Mere Mehboob on loop
The person who tasks industrial-corridor seriousness in public has watched Mere Mehboob so many occasions that it turned a long-running faculty joke. He has all the time had a smooth spot for previous Hindi romance — the Urdu dialogues, the light longing, the quiet heroism. For somebody accused of being emotionally opaque, his film selections say in any other case.
8. Masala dosa socialist
His meals habits are famously austere — vegetarian, easy, frivolously spiced, nearly monastic. However tucked inside that ascetic weight-reduction plan is one small rise up: his fondness for masala dosa and vegetarian Indo-Chinese language meals. Journalists on marketing campaign responsibility have noticed him at Patna’s basic South Indian eating places, consuming dosa. Even his indulgences are middle-class.
9. The person with the wood cot
Regardless of many years in energy, Nitish’s private quarters stay astonishingly naked: a wood cot, fundamental chairs, a lone almirah. At a celebration occasion, he as soon as served a minister meals on a leaf plate and sat on the ground to eat. You possibly can name it symbolism or simplicity — however it has been constant for many years.
10. The non-dynasty
Nitish and Manju had one son, Nishant — a software program engineer who avoids politics with the dedication of a monk avoiding temptation. Social gathering leaders push his identify; Nitish deflects each try. After a lifetime spent railing towards nepotism, he appears decided that the Kumar surname is not going to grow to be an inherited workplace.Nitish Kumar’s politics will be the stuff of memes, 9 oaths, and infinite punchlines about “Paltu Kumar.” However the man behind the headline — the engineer who almost give up, the husband who refused dowry, the cinephile who watches Teesri Kasam like scripture, the dosa-loving ascetic, the son who nonetheless garlands his spouse’s statue — is way extra layered. Dying. Taxes. Nitish taking oath. And someplace in between, yet another rewatch of Mere Mehboob.