Nitish Kumar Bihar CM: Quite uniquely, a journey of politics for Nitish Kumar becomes one of the rarest political stories in all of India, for he contested Assembly elections barely thrice and won some two-thirds. He has also remained Chief Minister of Bihar for nearly two decades now while the state Assembly elections of 2025 approach. Many query at this stage as to how Nitish manages to remain CM without being an MLA.
The first Assembly election in Bihar that Nitish Kumar contested was way back in the year, 1977. He won the 1985 Bihar Assembly election but soon shifted focus. Instead, from Harnaut, he decided to build up his national stature as a Member of Parliament (MP). He fought for a Lok Sabha seat where he won six times. His record has always been stronger than that of a state MP.
Aside from 1977, 1985, and 1995, Nitish has not contested any Bihar Assembly election yet became Chief Minister of Bihar in 2000, 2005, 2010, 2015, 2017, and later — thus one among the longest-serving Chief Ministers of India.
Nitish Kumar was first appointed CM in 2000 while he wasn’t an MLA in the state. The government collapsed eight days later, but that set up the uniqueness of the path. From 2005 onwards, every time he takes the oath for the CM office, he is neither an MLA — instead joining the Bihar Legislative Council (MLC) after forming the government.
Bihar is among the six states having a Legislative Council (the remaining ones are UP, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, and Telangana), thus making this route legally viable. A bicameral legislature is there in Bihar; under Indian law, a CM or minister could be elected to either House of the state legislature. A person can even take oath as CM first and become a legislator within six months.
For example, he became MLC in 2006 and then again in 2012, 2018, and lastly, in 2024. This ensured uninterrupted Existence as CM.
Critics argue that he avoids direct elections because of losing fear. This is, however, denied by Nitish. He has stated time and again that the Upper House is “‘a respectable institution”, and thus, his choice has been strategic rather than compulsory.
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There are other chief ministers like Yogi Adityanath (UP) and Uddhav Thackeray (Maharashtra) who have also held this position.
This unusual capability of Nitish Kumar to remain CM without being an MLA has to do with constitutional provisions coupled with political alliances and, most importantly, the strategic use of the Legislative Council. It shows that in Indian politics, electoral mathematics is not fully about direct contests; at times, it is about getting smart with the system and remaining relevant.
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