PATNA: Nitish Kumar faces a recurring dilemma: align with Lalu Prasad and become Chief Minister or join the Prime Minister's party for the same role. Nitish, a five-time Chief Minister in the last nine years tends to adapt to circumstances.

In the 2020 assembly elections, Nitish's JDU secured only 45 seats, ranking as the third-largest party. Despite this, Nitish assumed the Chief Minister's role three times, forming alliances with the RJD and BJP, the top two parties. Nitish's political maneuvering stands unparalleled in Indian history.

His political shifts began in 2014 when he served as Chief Minister six times with the BJP. Subsequently, he led the state thrice with the RJD. The Mahagathbandhan formed in 2015, dissolved in 2017 prompting Nitish to resign and rejoin the NDA. In the 2020 elections, though RJD secured 79 seats, BJP with 78 seats conceded the Chief Minister's post to JDU with 45 seats accompanied by a warning.

Allegations surfaced that BJP influenced JDU's defeats, strengthening the perception of BJP overshadowing JDU. Nitish, constrained by having given the Chief Minister's post to BJP, couldn't openly oppose. The alliance was short-lived leading to Nitish rejoining NDA after 18 months with RJD and Congress.