Nitish Kumar
Encyclopedia
Nitish Kumār is an Indian politician currently serving as Chief Minister
Chief Minister
A Chief Minister is the elected head of government of a sub-national state, provinces of Sri Lanka, Pakistan, notably a state of India, a territory of Australia or a British Overseas Territory that has attained self-government...

 of Bihar
Bihar
Bihar is a state in eastern India. It is the 12th largest state in terms of geographical size at and 3rd largest by population. Almost 58% of Biharis are below the age of 25, which is the highest proportion in India....

, an eastern state of India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

. He leads the Janata Dal (United)
Janata Dal (United)
Janata Dal is a political party in India with political presence mainly in Bihar and Jharkhand. Janta Dal party mentor and patron is "Veteran Socialist leader" George Fernandes; George Fernandes broke away from the erstwhile Janata Dal and formed the Samata Party in 1994. Presently it is led...

 party. As the Chief Minister, he has gained popularity by initiating a series of developmental and constructive activities including building of long-delayed bridges, re-laying roads that had ceased to exist, appointing over 100,000 school teachers, ensuring that doctors worked in primary health centers, and keeping crime in check.

Early life and career

Nitish Kumār was born in Bakhtiarpur
Bakhtiarpur
Bakhtiarpur is a city and a notified area in Patna district in the state of Bihar, India.-Demographics: India census, Bakhtiarpur had a population of 32,288. Males constitute 53% of the population and females 47%. Bakhtiarpur has an average literacy rate of 53%, lower than the national average of...

, Bihar to Kaviraj Ram Lakhan Singh and Parmeshwari Devi. His father was a freedom fighter and was close to the great Gandhian
Mahatma Gandhi
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi , pronounced . 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948) was the pre-eminent political and ideological leader of India during the Indian independence movement...

 Bihar Vibhuti Anugrah Narayan Sinha
Anugrah Narayan Sinha
Dr. Anugrah Narayan Sinha , known as Bihar Vibhuti, was an Indian statesman who was the first Deputy Chief Minister cum Finance Minister of the Indian state of Bihar...

, one of the founders of modern Bihar
Bihar
Bihar is a state in eastern India. It is the 12th largest state in terms of geographical size at and 3rd largest by population. Almost 58% of Biharis are below the age of 25, which is the highest proportion in India....

. His nickname is 'Munna'. He is a teetotaler, does not smoke, and is a frugal eater.

He has a degree in electrical engineering
Electrical engineering
Electrical engineering is a field of engineering that generally deals with the study and application of electricity, electronics and electromagnetism. The field first became an identifiable occupation in the late nineteenth century after commercialization of the electric telegraph and electrical...

 from the Bihar College of Engineering, Patna
Patna
Paṭnā , is the capital of the Indian state of Bihar and the second largest city in Eastern India . Patna is one of the oldest continuously inhabited places in the world...

 now NIT Patna
.

Political career

Nitish Kumar belongs to a socialist class of politicians.He learnt the lessons of politics under the tutelage of stalwarts Jayaprakash Narayan
Jayaprakash Narayan
Jayaprakash Narayan , widely known as JP Narayan, Jayaprakash, or Loknayak, was an Indian independence activist and political leader, remembered especially for leading the opposition to Indira Gandhi in the 1970s and for giving a call for peaceful Total Revolution...

, Ram Manohar Lohia
Ram Manohar Lohia
Rammanohar Lohia was an Indian freedom fighter and a socialist political leader.-Early life:Lohia was born in a village Akbarpur in Ambedkar Nagar district, Uttar Pradesh, in India to Hira Lal, a nationalist and Chanda,a teacher. He was born to Marwari Maheshwari family. His mother died when he...

, Karpoori Thakur
Karpoori Thakur
Karpoori Thakur was an Indian politician from the Bihar state. He was popularly known as Jan Nayak...

, S N Sinha, George Fernandes
George Fernandes
George Mathew Fernandes is an Indian trade unionist, politician, journalist, agriculturist, and member of Rajya Sabha from Bihar. He is a key member of the Janata Dal , and was the founder of the Samata Party...

 and V. P. Singh
V. P. Singh
Vishwanath Pratap Singh was the seventh Prime Minister of India and the 41st Raja Bahadur of Manda.-Early life:...

.

Early career

Nitish Kumar participated in Jayaprakash Narayan
Jayaprakash Narayan
Jayaprakash Narayan , widely known as JP Narayan, Jayaprakash, or Loknayak, was an Indian independence activist and political leader, remembered especially for leading the opposition to Indira Gandhi in the 1970s and for giving a call for peaceful Total Revolution...

's movementbetween 1974 and 1977, and was close to Satyendra Narayan Sinha
Satyendra Narayan Sinha
Satyendra Narayan Sinha was an Indian statesman, participant in the Indian independence movement, and a former Chief Minister of Bihar...

, a prominent leader of the time. He was first elected to the Bihar Legislative Assembly in 1985 as an independent candidate. In 1987, he became the President of the Yuva Lok Dal. In 1989, he became the Secretary-General
Secretary-General
-International intergovernmental organizations:-International nongovernmental organizations:-Sports governing bodies:...

 of the Janata Dal
Janata Dal
Janata Dal is an Indian political party which was formed through the merger of Janata Party factions, the Lok Dal, Congress, and the Jan Morcha led by V. P...

 in Bihar. He was also elected to the 9th Lok Sabha
Lok Sabha
The Lok Sabha or House of the People is the lower house of the Parliament of India. Members of the Lok Sabha are elected by direct election under universal adult suffrage. As of 2009, there have been fifteen Lok Sabhas elected by the people of India...

 the same year.

During his term as Minister of Railways, he brought widespread reforms.

Union Minister in Centre

In 1989, Nitish Kumar was appointed as the Union Minister of State
Minister of State
Minister of State is a title borne by politicians or officials in certain countries governed under a parliamentary system. In some countries a "minister of state" is a junior minister, who is assigned to assist a specific cabinet minister...

 for Agriculture in the Cabinet of Prime Minister Vishwanath Pratap Singh. In 1991, he was re-elected to the Lok Sabha and became General Secretary of the Janata Dal at the national level and the Deputy Leader of Janata Dal in the Parliament. He represented Barh
Barh
Barh is a town and subdivision of Patna District of Bihar. It is located along the Ganges River, south-east of Patna.Barh railway station witnessed burning of many trains by a mob protesting the withdrawal of stoppage of trains there and many more causes....

 parliamentary constituency in the Lok Sabha
Lok Sabha
The Lok Sabha or House of the People is the lower house of the Parliament of India. Members of the Lok Sabha are elected by direct election under universal adult suffrage. As of 2009, there have been fifteen Lok Sabhas elected by the people of India...

 between 1989 and 2004.

He briefly served as the Union Cabinet Minister for Railways and Minister for Surface Transport and then as the Minister for Agriculture in 1998–99. In August 1999, he resigned following the Gaisal train disaster
Gaisal train disaster
The Gaisal train disaster occurred on 2 August 1999, when two trains carrying 2,500 people collided at the remote station of Gaisal, 310 miles from the city of Gauhati in Assam...

. He introduced internet ticket booking facility as well as opened record number of railway ticket booking counters. He introduced revolutionary tatkal scheme for instant booking.

Later that year, he rejoined the Union Cabinet as Minister for Agriculture. From 2001 to May 2004, he served as the Union Cabinet Minister for Railways in the NDA
NDA
NDA is an abbreviation that may refer to:* National Dance Association, the oldest American organization for dance education* National Defence Academy , a military academy in India...

 Government of Atal Bihari Vajpayee
Atal Bihari Vajpayee
Atal Bihari Vajpayee is an Indian statesman who served as the tenth Prime Minister of India three times – first for a brief term of 13 days in 1996, and then for two terms from 1998 to 2004. After his first brief period as Prime Minister in 1996, Vajpayee headed a coalition government from...

. In the 2004 Lok Sabha elections he contested elections from two constituencies, Barh
Barh
Barh is a town and subdivision of Patna District of Bihar. It is located along the Ganges River, south-east of Patna.Barh railway station witnessed burning of many trains by a mob protesting the withdrawal of stoppage of trains there and many more causes....

 and Nalanda
Nalanda
Nālandā is the name of an ancient center of higher learning in Bihar, India.The site of Nalanda is located in the Indian state of Bihar, about 55 miles south east of Patna, and was a Buddhist center of learning from the fifth or sixth century CE to 1197 CE. It has been called "one of the...

. He was elected from Nalanda but lost from his traditional constituency, Barh. He was the leader of the Janata Dal (United)
Janata Dal (United)
Janata Dal is a political party in India with political presence mainly in Bihar and Jharkhand. Janta Dal party mentor and patron is "Veteran Socialist leader" George Fernandes; George Fernandes broke away from the erstwhile Janata Dal and formed the Samata Party in 1994. Presently it is led...

 Parliamentary Party in the Lok Sabha.

1st Term (3 March 2000 – 10 March 2000)

On 3 March 2000, Nitish Kumar was appointed the Chief Minister of Bihar, but he resigned seven days later because failed to prove majority.

2nd Term (24 November 2005 – 24 November 2010)

In November 2005, he led the National Democratic Alliance
National Democratic Alliance (India)
The National Democratic Alliance is a centre-right coalition of political parties in India. At the time of its formation in 1998, it was led by the Bharatiya Janata Party and had thirteen constituent parties. Its convenor is Sharad Yadav, and its honorary chairman is former prime minister Atal...

 to victory in the 2005 Bihar
Bihar
Bihar is a state in eastern India. It is the 12th largest state in terms of geographical size at and 3rd largest by population. Almost 58% of Biharis are below the age of 25, which is the highest proportion in India....

 assembly elections bringing an end to the 15-year rule of the Lalu Prasad Yadav
Lalu Prasad Yadav
Lalu Prasad Yadav is an Indian politician from Bihar. He was the Minister of Railways from 2004 to 2009 in the ruling United Progressive Alliance government, and the President of the Rashtriya Janata Dal political party...

-led Rashtriya Janata Dal
Rashtriya Janata Dal
The Rashtriya Janata Dal is a political party in India, based in the state of Bihar. The party was founded in 1997 by Laloo Prasad Yadav. The party came about as a result of Lalu Prasad Yadav, ex-president of Janata Dal, being evicted by Sharad Yadav, the then president, on corruption charges ...

. He was sworn in as the Chief Minister of Bihar on 24 November 2005. Under his government, Bihar developed an electronic version of the Right to Information Act
Right to Information Act
The Right to Information Act 2005 is an Act of the Parliament of India "to provide for setting out the practical regime of right to information for citizens." The Act applies to all States and Union Territories of India except the State of Jammu and Kashmir. Jammu and Kashmir has its own act...

. In addition, he launched the E-shakti NREGS program, by which rural people can get employment information by telephone. He is credited with improving infrastructure, and reducing crime, widely felt to be serious problems in the state.

Under his governance Bihar has had a record number of criminal prosecutions through fast track courts. His government initiated a mandatory weekly meeting with all District Magistrate
Deputy Commissioner (India)
The deputy commissioner or district magistrate or district collector or district magistrate and collector is the head of the revenue administration of an Indian district. The DC is required to be an Indian Administrative Service officer who is in charge of governmental assets in his district of...

s to monitor progress at the grassroot level. His government has generated employment in police services and teaching. Bihar recorded record construction work during his five year mandate, surpassing the national average.

Nitish Kumar government also initiated bicycle and meal programs – the government gave bicycles to girls who stayed in school – which saw Bihar getting huge number of girls into schools and fall in school drop out rates. Women and extremely backward castes were given 50% reservation in electorals for the first time ever in India.

Health schemes were launched to improve village hospitals and the free medicine distribution system. Loan schemes for farmers were improved by involving national banks.

The state witnessed steep hike in GSDP growth, the second highest in the country. Bihar was recorded as the highest tax payer state in eastern India.

Dr. Abdul Kalam, former President of India and Nitish Kumar initiated the Nalanda International University
Nalanda International University
Nalanda International University is the name of a proposed university in Nalanda, Bihar which is expected to be functional from 2013 with seven schools or more and will expand in later years...

 project, headed by the Prime Minister of India.

In 2010, Nitish Kumar's party swept back to power along with its ally Bharatiya Janata Party
Bharatiya Janata Party
The Bharatiya Janata Party ,; translation: Indian People's Party) is one of the two major political parties in India, the other being the Indian National Congress. Established in 1980, it is India's second largest political party in terms of representation in the parliament...

. On 26 November 2010, Nitish Kumar took oath as a Chief Minister of Bihar. This is his second consecutive term as Chief Minister of Bihar.http://ibnlive.in.com/news/bihar-polls-jdubjp-combine-take-early-lead/135722-37-64.html?from=tn

3rd Term (26 November 2010 – Till Now)

In a keenly fought contest, Nitish Kumar led JDU-BJP combine won with four-fifth majority. NDA won 206 seats while RJD won 22 seats. No party there has won enough seats to represent the opposition in the state assembly, which requires at least 25 seats to become eligible to represent the main opposition party.

For the first time electorates witnessed high turnout of women and young voters, while this election has been rated as the fairest Bihari election, with no bloodshed or poll violence.

Personal life

On 22 February 1973, Nitish Kumar married Manju Kumari Sinha, a teacher by profession.They have a son, Nishant, who is a graduate of BIT
Birla Institute of Technology
Birla Institute of Technology, Mesra , is an autonomous engineering and technology oriented institute of higher education located in Ranchi, Jharkhand, India...

, Mesra. His wife died in 2007 at the age of 53. He is credited with giving a new face to Bihar. The kind of win his Government registered during 2010 Bihar Assembly is viewed among the biggest ever election win by anyone in Indian elections, where the entire opposition was almost wiped off. Many sections of media and political sections consider him as the best Chief Minister from India, able to bring success of governance in a state of turmoil, finishing caste, religion barrier and paving way for development. For his clean and Statesman like status he owns respect from his bitter opponents and all political parties including Congress whose many prominent leaders including chief Sonia Gandhi
Sonia Gandhi
Sonia Gandhi is an Italian-born Indian politician and the President of the Indian National Congress, one of the major political parties of India. She is the widow of former Prime Minister of India, Rajiv Gandhi...

, Home Minister P. Chidambaram
P. Chidambaram
P. Chidambaram or Chidambaram Palaniappan, sometimes written Palaniappan Chidambaram is an Indian politician with the Indian National Congress and present Union Minister of Home Affairs of the Republic of India. Previously he was the Finance Minister of India from May 2004 to November 2008...

, NCP leader Agatha Sangma and congress Spokesman Ambika Soni , credited Nitish Kumar's clean, pro-citizen development oriented governance. It is a status which at current only Nitish Kumar enjoys, something a rare feat in Indian politics where someone achieves respect and appreciation from opposition along with landslide public support from all sections of Society.

Awards and recognition

  • XLRI
    XLRI
    The XLRI School of Business and Human Resources, Jamshedpur is a graduate business school in Jamshedpur, India. Established in 1949, XLRI is arguably the oldest business school in India and is regarded as consistently among the top 5 business schools of the country...

    ,Jamshedpur "Sir Jehangir Ghandy Medal" for Industrial & Social Peace 2011.
  • "MSN Indian of the year 2010"
  • NDTV Indian of the Year
    NDTV Indian of the Year
    -Winners:-7th NDTV Indian of the Year:The 7th NDTV Indian of the Year was held at the Taj Palace Hotel on October 18, 2011. The winners were:* Indian of the Year – Anna Hazare and Arvind Kejriwal* India's Heroes – India national cricket team...

     – Politics, 2010
  • Forbes
    Forbes
    Forbes is an American publishing and media company. Its flagship publication, the Forbes magazine, is published biweekly. Its primary competitors in the national business magazine category are Fortune, which is also published biweekly, and Business Week...

     "India's Person of the Year", 2010
  • CNN-IBN "Indian of the Year Award" – Politics, 2010
  • NDTV Indian of the year
    NDTV Indian of the Year
    -Winners:-7th NDTV Indian of the Year:The 7th NDTV Indian of the Year was held at the Taj Palace Hotel on October 18, 2011. The winners were:* Indian of the Year – Anna Hazare and Arvind Kejriwal* India's Heroes – India national cricket team...

     – Politics, 2009
  • Economics Times "Business reformer of the Year 2009".
  • 'Polio Eradication Championship Award' 2009, by Rotary Internationals.
  • CNN-IBN Great Indian of the Year – Politics, 2008
  • The Best Chief Minister
    Chief Minister
    A Chief Minister is the elected head of government of a sub-national state, provinces of Sri Lanka, Pakistan, notably a state of India, a territory of Australia or a British Overseas Territory that has attained self-government...

    , according to the CNN
    CNN
    Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...

    -IBN
    IBN
    IBN or ibn may refer to:In general* ibn, patronymic in Arabic personal names * IBN code page , a Nordic language code page under MS-DOS...

     and HT
    Hindustan Times
    Hindustan Times is an Indian English-language daily newspaper founded in 1924 with roots in the Indian independence movement of the period ....

     State of the Nation Poll 2007.

Positions Held

Period Positions Note
1977 Janata Party
Janata Party
The Janata Party was an amalgam of Indian political parties opposed to the state of emergency imposed by the government of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and her Indian National Congress...

 ticket.
>-
1985–89 Member, Bihar Legislative Assembly. First term in Legislative Assembly
1986–87 Member, Committee on Petitions, Bihar Legislative Assembly.
1987–88 President, Yuva Lok Dal, Bihar.
1987–89 Member, Committee on Public Undertakings, Bihar Legislative Assembly.
1989 Secretary-General, Janata Dal
Janata Dal
Janata Dal is an Indian political party which was formed through the merger of Janata Party factions, the Lok Dal, Congress, and the Jan Morcha led by V. P...

, Bihar.
1989 Elected to 9th Lok Sabha
9th Lok Sabha
List of Members of the 9th Lok Sabha, elected May-June 1989. The Lok Sabha is the lower house in the Parliament of India.- Important members :* Speaker:...

.
First term in Lok Sabha
Lok Sabha
The Lok Sabha or House of the People is the lower house of the Parliament of India. Members of the Lok Sabha are elected by direct election under universal adult suffrage. As of 2009, there have been fifteen Lok Sabhas elected by the people of India...

1989-16 July 1990 Member, House Committee. Resigned
4/1990-11/1990 Union Minister of State, Agriculture
Ministry of Agriculture (India)
The Ministry of Agriculture, a branch of the Government of India, is the apex body for formulation and administration of the rules and regulations and laws relating to agriculture in India. The 3 broad areas of scope for the Ministry are agriculture, food processing and co-operation. The ministry...

 and Co-operation.
1991 Re-elected to 10th Lok Sabha
10th Lok Sabha
List of Members of the 10th Lok Sabha, elected during Indian general election, 1991 held during May-June 1991. The Lok Sabha is the lower house in the Parliament of India.-Important members:* Speaker:...

.
2nd term in Lok Sabha
Lok Sabha
The Lok Sabha or House of the People is the lower house of the Parliament of India. Members of the Lok Sabha are elected by direct election under universal adult suffrage. As of 2009, there have been fifteen Lok Sabhas elected by the people of India...

1991–93 General-Secretary, Janata Dal.
Deputy Leader of Janata Dal in Parliament.
17/12/91-10/5/96 Member, Railway Convention Committee.
8/4/93-10/5/96 Chairman, Committee on Agriculture.
1996 Re-elected to 11th Lok Sabha
11th Lok Sabha
List of Members of the 11th Lok Sabha, elected during Indian general election, 1996 held during April-May 1996. The Lok Sabha is the lower house in the Parliament of India.-Important members:* Speaker:...

.
Member, Committee on Estimates.
Member, General Purposes Committee.
Member, Joint Committee on the Constitution (Eighty-first Amendment Bill, 1996).
3rd term in Lok Sabha
Lok Sabha
The Lok Sabha or House of the People is the lower house of the Parliament of India. Members of the Lok Sabha are elected by direct election under universal adult suffrage. As of 2009, there have been fifteen Lok Sabhas elected by the people of India...

1996–98 Member, Committee on Defence.
1998 Re-elected to 12th Lok Sabha
12th Lok Sabha
List of Members of the 12th Lok Sabha, after Indian general election, 1998 held during February-March 1998. The Lok Sabha is the lower house in the Parliament of India.- Important members :* Speaker:...

.
4th term in Lok Sabha
Lok Sabha
The Lok Sabha or House of the People is the lower house of the Parliament of India. Members of the Lok Sabha are elected by direct election under universal adult suffrage. As of 2009, there have been fifteen Lok Sabhas elected by the people of India...

19/3/98-5/8/99 Union Cabinet Minister, Railways
Ministry of Railways (India)
The Ministry of Railways in India is in charge of the Indian Railways, an organisation that operates as a monopoly in rail transport in India. Dinesh Trivedi is the current minister responsible for railways....

.
14/4/98-5/8/99 Union Cabinet Minister, Surface Transport (additional charge).
1999 Re-elected to 13th Lok Sabha
13th Lok Sabha
The 13th Lok Sabha is the thirteenth session of the Lok Sabha...

.
5th term in Lok Sabha
Lok Sabha
The Lok Sabha or House of the People is the lower house of the Parliament of India. Members of the Lok Sabha are elected by direct election under universal adult suffrage. As of 2009, there have been fifteen Lok Sabhas elected by the people of India...

13/10/99-22 November 1999 Union Cabinet Minister, Surface Transport.
22/11/99-3 March 2000 Union Cabinet Minister, Agriculture
Ministry of Agriculture (India)
The Ministry of Agriculture, a branch of the Government of India, is the apex body for formulation and administration of the rules and regulations and laws relating to agriculture in India. The 3 broad areas of scope for the Ministry are agriculture, food processing and co-operation. The ministry...

.
3/3/00-10/3/00 Chief Minister, Bihar. as 29th Chief Minister of Bihar, only for 7 days
27/5/00-20 March 2001 Union Cabinet Minister, Agriculture
Ministry of Agriculture (India)
The Ministry of Agriculture, a branch of the Government of India, is the apex body for formulation and administration of the rules and regulations and laws relating to agriculture in India. The 3 broad areas of scope for the Ministry are agriculture, food processing and co-operation. The ministry...

.
20/3/01-21 July 2001 Union Cabinet Minister, Agriculture
Ministry of Agriculture (India)
The Ministry of Agriculture, a branch of the Government of India, is the apex body for formulation and administration of the rules and regulations and laws relating to agriculture in India. The 3 broad areas of scope for the Ministry are agriculture, food processing and co-operation. The ministry...

 with additional charge of Railways
Ministry of Railways (India)
The Ministry of Railways in India is in charge of the Indian Railways, an organisation that operates as a monopoly in rail transport in India. Dinesh Trivedi is the current minister responsible for railways....

.
22/7/01-21 May 2004 Union Cabinet Minister, Railways
Ministry of Railways (India)
The Ministry of Railways in India is in charge of the Indian Railways, an organisation that operates as a monopoly in rail transport in India. Dinesh Trivedi is the current minister responsible for railways....

2004 Re-elected to 14th Lok Sabha
14th Lok Sabha
The 14th Lok Sabha was convened after the Indian general election, 2004 held in four phases during 20 April – 10 May 2004, which led to the formation of First Manmohan Singh Cabinet...

.
Member, Committee on Coal & Steel.
Member, General Purposes Committee.
Member, Committee of Privileges.
Leader Janata Dal (U) Parliamentary Party, Lok Sabha.
6th term in Lok Sabha
Lok Sabha
The Lok Sabha or House of the People is the lower house of the Parliament of India. Members of the Lok Sabha are elected by direct election under universal adult suffrage. As of 2009, there have been fifteen Lok Sabhas elected by the people of India...

From 24 November 2005 – 24 November 2010 Chief Minister, Bihar. as 31st Chief Minister of Bihar,
From 26 November 2010 – Till Date Chief Minister, Bihar. as 32nd Chief Minister of Bihar

External links

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