As Nishant Kumar moves around Bihar’s West Champaran district, stopping at villages to greet crowds, his political party workers have positioned earth-moving machines to shower him with marigolds. MLA greets him on the way; he is hugged and fed. Nishant seems overwhelmed and it shows in his reticence. Despite being born into a political family and familiar with the drama and sycophancy that comes with the job, he is not a natural politician.
He gets up in the elevator built into his Traveler to greet people, often coming down to meet them. “Janata se mila ye aapar pyar aur samarthan meri sabse badi taakat hai (this immense love and support I get from people is my greatest strength),” he says. “I hope that the same affection, trust and blessings will continue in the future so that this path of harmony and development can continue to move forward.”
He often repeats the words of his father Nitish Kumar. Nitish, with over 40 years of political experience, is now a Rajya Sabha MP and has just made way for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate to become the Chief Minister of Bihar. He is the national president of the Janata Dal (United) party, which was formed in 2003.
On the morning of May 3 at Nitish’s 7, Circular Road, Nishant (44) bends down to touch his father’s feet. They hug each other. Nitish has just left the Chief Minister’s bungalow and this public display of affection marks a passing of the baton. More than that, it is a sign that Nishant is relying on his father’s work to gain people’s trust.
The Way of Goodwill
Nishant started his Sadbhav Yatra (journey of goodwill) from Bagaha in West Bihar; He is accompanied by JD(U) president Umesh Singh Kushwaha and party leader and rural development minister Shrawon Kumar who are going through the motions as Nishant does not have the natural demeanor of a seasoned politician. There’s no chest-pounding, crowd-control, or the arrogance of someone born to do the job. At least not yet. Champaran region, following the path of his father who launched most of his yatras from Champaran region. His first stop on the two-day journey is the Hanuman Mandir in Patna.
Nishant Kumar met Bagaha and West Champaran party workers at Bettiah, Bihar on 4 May 2026. Photo credit: Sushil Kumar Verma
Party workers and supporters give him a warm welcome as he passes through five districts before reaching Valmiki Nagar in West Champaran, where he will stay overnight. There he will be welcomed by members of the Tharu community, a scheduled tribe living in the Tharuhat area along the Indo-Nepal border.
He is accompanied by Bihar JD(U) president Umesh Singh Kushwaha and party leader and rural development minister Shrawon Kumar, who is walking him through the motions as Nishant does not have the natural demeanor of a seasoned politician. There’s no chest-pounding, crowd-control, or the arrogance of someone born to do the job. At least not yet.
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He repeats the line about following in his father’s footsteps with every interaction and finishes his speech in less than a minute. Before reaching Valmiki Nagar, he will stop at 15 places where party workers welcome him.
“He seems to be training. Why is he scared and tense? His body language shows that he is facing a crowd for the first time,” says Manoj Patel, a resident of Bettiah. “He is not able to manage the crowd effectively. Nitishji should have put his son in politics five years ago so that he can get proper training.”
In the background, Nishant says over the loudspeaker, “With immense public support and people’s blessings, this campaign not only strengthens the harmony in the society but also infuses new energy into the development and unity of Bihar.”
Nishant Kumar in Bettiah during his ‘Sadbhav Yatra’ which started on Sunday in Bettiah, Bihar, May 3, 2026. | Photo credit: Sushil Kumar Verma
At Bettiah, Nishant stops to garland the statue of Mahatma Gandhi. Gandhi started his first satyagraha 109 years ago from Champaran. Around 100 people surround Nishant. When he doesn’t get to the statue, he throws a garland at its feet.
Another resident of Bettiah says, “Last year, during the Voter Adhikar Yatra, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi came to the same chowk. There were more than 10,000 people. This crowd is nothing. It seems the local leaders did not give their best to attract crowds for Nishant.”
Entry for political survival
Nishant joined JD(U) on 8 March 2026 and started meeting party workers and leaders. Earlier, he often said that he was not interested in politics and chose the path of spirituality, dedicating his life to ISKCON and the Hare Rama-Hare Krishna movement. Although he wears the traditional white kurta-pajama of a politician, he was rarely seen at his father’s political rallies.
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Sources close to him say that Nishant is a calm person who enjoys listening to spiritual songs and reading religious texts. He stayed out of the limelight, stuck to his family and never got involved in social controversies.
He graduated in Computer Engineering from Birla Institute of Technology (BIT), Mesra, Ranchi. During his father’s nine terms as chief minister, he was rarely seen at government functions.
His father served as Chief Minister for more than two decades and was sworn in for a record 10th term on 20 November 2025. Through several political blunders to remain Chief Minister, Nitish has navigated Bihar’s complex socio-political terrain while focusing on improving law and order and promoting governance initiatives.
During his tenure, after coming to power in 2005, Nitish undertook several yatras. His latest, the Samriddhi Yatra (journey of prosperity), marked his exit from Bihar politics before his election to the Rajya Sabha.
Face to face crowd for the first time
At his first public meeting, organized at the Bapu Sabhagar Auditorium in Bettiah, party workers and leaders hear him speak from a public platform for the first time. Most leaders project him as the next Chief Minister of Bihar and claim that he is the future of the JD(U).
JD(U) MLC Bhishm Sahani says, “Nitish Kumar is Nishant and Nishant is Nitish Kumar. Champaran land will bless him to become Chief Minister. Every party worker and leader will stand with him like a rock.”
Nishant Kumar during his first address to JD(U) party members at Bapu Sabhagar Auditorium in Bettiah, Bihar on May 4, 2026. | Photo credit: Sushil Kumar Verma
Bhagat Patel, a party worker at the venue says, “Nitishji has not left us; he is in our hearts. When he became the Chief Minister, Bihar was handed over to him in a bad condition, but with his hard work and dedication, he changed Bihar. All the party workers want to see Nishantji as the Chief Minister of Bihar in the coming days.”
Another party worker Dharmendra Kumar says the party will benefit from Nishant’s entry into politics. He adds that party workers are excited and happy to see him as Nitish’s successor.
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Satrughan Prasad Kushwaha, a party worker from Bagah says, “Nishant is the future of the party and under his leadership the party will flourish not only in Champaran but across Bihar. He will strengthen the party at the grassroots level.” No one is sure how.
Mausir Alam, another party worker, points out that Nitish has maintained a secular image and says his son would do the same despite the party’s alliance with the BJP.
Aarti Devi, Bagaha district president of JD(U) women’s cell says Nitish has done a lot for the upliftment of women and calls him the architect of modern Bihar. “Nitishji gave women 50% reservation in Panchayati Raj institutions and municipal bodies. He also gave us 35% reservation in the police force and in government jobs. The Mukhyamantri Mahila Rojgar Yojana was the best program he started under which women were promised ₹10,000,” she says, adding school uniforms and bicycles distributed to girls. “We have similar expectations from Nishantji.
Great leaders are absent from the yatra
A large number of women gathered to see Nishant. Many hold banners and placards reading, “Hamara neta kaisa ho? Nishant Kumar jaisa ho (How should our leader be? Like Nishant Kumar)”. Most women see him for the first time; many are hearing his name for the first time.
“I was informed that Nitishji was coming here, so I came to see him, but someone else came. People say he is Nitish’s elder son,” says a woman holding a banner with Nishant.
Nishant is Nitish’s only child.
Many local leaders are questioning why senior party leaders were absent. JD(U) National Working President Sanjay Jha, Union Minister Rajiv Ranjan Singh alias Lalan Singh and Deputy Chief Ministers Vijay Kumar Choudhary and Bijendra Prasad Yadav were absent on May 3 and May 4.
Calling the yatra historic, Kushwaha says Nishant will shape the politics of Bihar for the next three or four decades. He says that throughout the trip, every community, especially the youth, showed enthusiasm.
“The day Nitishji decided to go to the Rajya Sabha, party workers felt only darkness. But Nishantji came to remove that darkness with the hope of a new beginning,” he says.
Maiden political speech
After a series of speeches, when Nishant stood up to speak, nearly half of the 2,500-capacity auditorium emptied. At the beginning of the event, the hall was full. A party member asks the crowd standing outside to come inside. Only then students wearing Sadbhav Yatra t-shirts enter the auditorium and shout slogans in support of Nishant.
On stage, before he speaks, Nishant keeps rubbing his hands together, shaking his legs and not smiling. “My father, Nitish Kumar, has resigned as Chief Minister and now he has become a member of the Rajya Sabha. We all have to accept his decision. I know very well that everyone is disappointed with my father’s decision, but he is still here and continues to lead us,” says Nishant, asking people to repose the same faith in him that they had in Nitish.
In his 20-minute speech, he focuses on the work his father did as the Chief Minister of Bihar in areas such as roads, electricity, drinking water, agriculture, jobs and upliftment of women. He congratulates the new National Democratic Alliance government and Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary.
There are challenges ahead for Nishant
Political commentator Sanjay Kumar from Bihar says that Nishant still has a long way to go in politics and that he currently lacks spark. With time, he said, Nishant might learn the art of politics.
“In his political life, Nitish never supported dynastic politics, but for the survival of his party, he finally decided to put aside his ideology. Nishant entered politics very late, but his biggest challenge is to keep the party united and a consolidated vote bank,” he says.
Nitish’s vote bank traditionally includes Other Backward Classes (OBC) and Extremely Backward Classes (EBC). According to Bihar Caste Survey 2023, OBCs constitute 27.12% of the state’s population, while EBCs constitute 36.01%. Together they constitute more than 63% of Bihar’s population.
On 8 May, Nishant was inducted into the Bihar Cabinet as Health Minister. Several JD(U) leaders feel that he could have chosen the deputy chief minister’s post but instead chose to start by winning the trust of the people and the party.
