Nitish Kumar quits NDA: A look at JD(U) chief's unpredictable flip-flops since 1989

Bihar Chief Minister and Janata Dal (United) leader Nitish Kumar Tuesday resigned from his post after ending his alliance with the BJP in the state.

But break-ups and alliances are not new for the JD(U) chief. Before joining NDA again in 2017, he broke the alliance with the RJD after forming a government with its support in 2015.

Here's a look at Kumar’s political summersaults over the years:

1989: In the early days of Janata Dal, Nitish Kumar backed Lalu Prasad Yadav as leader of the opposition in Bihar Assembly in 1989.

1994: He fell out with Prasad, floated the Samata Party with George Fernandes.

1996: Kumar joined hands with the BJP and was a minister in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee cabinet.

2000: Kumar was elected to office, but he resigned after taking the oath as the NDA and allies had 151 seats. While Prasad’s RJD had 159, both falling short of the required 163 seats.

2003: The Samata Party merged with Sharad Yadav’s Janata Dal, while continuing its alliance with the BJP. The Janata Dal (United) was formed with Kumar at the helm.

2005: JD(U) in alliance with the BJP came back to power as an NDA member.

2010: Kumar’s party came to power along with ally -- the BJP -- and he again became the CM.

2013: He severed his party’s ties with the BJP after 17 years in 2013, when Narendra Modi was anointed the BJP’s campaign committee chief for the 2014 Lok Sabha polls.

Later, he won a trust vote with support from Congress but stepped down in 2014.

However, within a year, Kumar was back as the chief minister with support from the RJD and the Congress.

2017: The Grand Alliance of the JD(U), Congress and RJD won the 2017 Assembly polls. However, it collapsed in just two years over the deputy CM and RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav’s name cropping up in a money laundering case.

Kumar broke the alliance and resigned as the chief minister and was back in the office in less than 24 hours with the BJP’s support.

2020: In 2020, he took oath as the Bihar CM for the seventh time with the support of the BJP.  

2022: Now in 2022, he has ended his alliance with BJP and now is likely to join hands with the RJD again.

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