Upnesh Kumar, 79, sums up three decades of Bihar politics in three sentences about the electricity supply to his village.
“During Jaganath Mishra’s time (December 1989-March 1990) even before you could drive through the field after switching on the engine, the power went out. In Lalu’s era (March 1990-November 2005), all power lines were switched off. Under Nitish Kumar (November) every 2nd day from 2 to 2 o’clock by Mr. said Kumar. He is a kurmi, same caste as the Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.
At the end of two decades in power, Mr. Nitish Kumar remains at the center of Bihar politics. But this choice is more about the question: is it Mr. Nitish Kumar’s swan song or is there a different symphony left in him.
It was a long journey for him. In 1977, at the height of the anti-Congress wave, many young socialist leaders made a dash for parliament, but Nitish lost the election by 5,895 votes and stood out as an outlier among his fellow socialists. He didn’t fare any better the second time around. He was defeated again in the 1980 parliamentary elections. It was only in his third appearance in the parliamentary elections in 1985 that he finally tasted victory. He was never again without a seat in the legislature. Since 1995, Harnaut has been in the Samata group and then in the Janata Dal (United).
The economic development of Bihar was checked. Mr. Nitish Kumar is credited for his administrative acumen, yet there is statistical evidence often cited by his detractors to highlight his failures.
In response to a question by JD(U) MP Giridhari Yadav in the last session, Parliament was told that as per preliminary estimates released on May 30, 2025, the per capita net national income is ₹ 2,05,324, while that of Bihar is ₹ 69,321. Bihar’s share of the national GDP also remains less than three percent. In 1960-61, united Bihar was at 7.8% — the fourth highest in the country. After partition, when Jharkhand was excluded, it fell to 2.8% in 2000-01 and remained stagnant at the same figure in 2023-24, according to the Economic Advisory Council in the September 2024 Prime Minister’s Report on “Relative Economic Performance of Indian States”.
These statistics break the ice in Harnaut, where neat tree-lined roads, regular water and electricity supplies are seen as better indicators of the elusive “vikas” (development) that politicians talk about but voters rarely see.
Mr. Upnesh Kumar’s neighbor Ashutosh Kumar (65), also a Kurmi, joins. he said. Speculations about his declining mental acuity and the machinations of the BJP to oust him from the Chief Minister’s seat are winning him the sympathy of voters here.
Two complaints
Nitish’s unblemished personality is celebrated; but there are two common complaints – the growing dominance of bureaucracy and JD(U) legislators. The JD(U) fielded only four of its sitting legislators.
Kalyan Bigha is the ancestral village of Mr. Nitish Kumar. Here stands his two-story house by the village pond. An unadorned building that bears no distinguishing marks of its owner. A padlock hangs on a brown wooden door. The windows are blinds. The house stands aside, much like its owner.
Pappu Thakur, who belongs to the Nai community listed as Extremely Backward Community, has a shop opposite the Chief Minister’s house. He is a men’s tailor. His eyes are focused on the fabric, which he holds in his hand, measuring, marking and cutting it with heavy iron scissors, without pausing and at the same time presenting an assessment of the government of Nit. His vote remains for the JD(U), after all, had it not been for the infrastructure built by the Nitta government, he argues, he could have returned after living in Mumbai for 21 years. But he is not a carefree voter. Nitish visits his home three times a year to pay his respects to his late parents and wife, each time arriving surrounded by a cordon of bureaucrats and police. Unseen and unheard by his own villagers, the Phantom wails. He is upset that the JD(U) has not replaced Harnaut’s MLA Harinarayan Singh, who has been in the seat since 2010.
Voters could do with a new face and a younger candidate, he says. Harnaut was the battleground of JD(U) vs Lok Janshakti party. In the last three elections, it was a straight fight between the two. For the first time, the two parties are on the same page, allowing Congress, which has stood down, to take the challenger’s place here.
In Nalanda constituency, where Rural Development Minister and JD(U) leader Sharwan Kumar is contesting, voters are raising similar complaints. At the Lav Kumar Mishra, Chandrakant Prasad, Kurmi and PK Verma, Chandravanshi tea shop, they sip their evening cup of tea in small kulhads. Mr. Mishra, the most vocal of the three, begins the interview. Chandravanshi falls under Extremely Backward category. “Sharwan Kumar is winning only because he is contesting from JD(U), otherwise he would not have won the panchayat elections,” he declares. The other two nodded in agreement. They complain that he works through “agents” in villages cut off from the population. While Mr. Mishra takes the next step and declares that he will vote for the Jan Suraj Party this time, simply because he longs for a change, the other two disagree. “Prashant Kisor is not tested. Nitish Kumar is tested and trusted,” Mr Verma said.
In Nalanda it is Mr. Nitish Kumar so far.
Published – 26 Oct 2025 20:47 IST
