Nitish Kumar switches sides yet again, takes oath as Bihar CM

Janata Dal (United) president Nitish Kumar took oath as Bihar Chief Minister for a record ninth time on Sunday, returning to the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance just 18 months after he left it, in his fifth switch in political loyalties since 2015. Six Ministers and two Deputy Chief Ministers, both from the BJP, were also sworn in with him.

Mr. Kumar said his latest switch was “in the interest of Bihar”. The BJP said that its renewed “alliance with the JD(U) happened for the development of Bihar”. The Rashtriya Janata Dal, which Mr. Kumar has broken up with again, said, “The game is not over yet”, predicting the JD(U)‘s demise as a party.

Since November 2005, Mr. Kumar has been making repeated political turnarounds to remain the CM of Bihar, apart from a brief hiatus after his party’s poor performance in the 2014 Lok Sabha election.