The emergence of Bihar Chief Minister, Nitish Kumar as one of the most important ally of BJP in this year’s Lok Sabha elections has surprised many political pundits.

Nitish Kumar who had his political obituary written by many experts, led his party, the JDU to win 12 parliamentary seats, bouncing back after a rather lacklustre show in the 2020 state assembly elections, where he had won only 43 seats in the 243 seat state assembly.

Back then, Nitish Kumar had managed to retain his chief minister’s post, with his alliance partner, the BJP with 74 seats, backing him.

In the 2024 general elections, not many political experts expected Nitish Kumar’s JDU to play a significant role in government formation at the centre.

Ridiculed by many people with the moniker ‘Paltu Ram’ for regularly switching political sides, many experts and his political opponents had predicted the end of Nitish Kumar’s political career with this year’s parliamentary elections.

He had only months ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls gone back to the NDA after playing an important role in the formation of the INDIA alliance.

However, as results from Bihar started pouring in on June 4th, Nitish Kumar had defied all expectations to lead his party to emerge as a king maker in Modi’s third term as Prime Minister.

The better than expected outcome in Bihar for the JDU in this year’s general elections, has reaffirmed Nitish Kumar’s enduring influence in Bihar’s political landscape, defying predictions of his political demise.