00:00This is Nitish Kumar, and this was me standing next to him dressed as a Sardar in 2017.
00:05And for someone like me who was born in Bihar in the 2000s, this isn't just a headline.
00:10Chief Minister almost meant Nitish Kumar. After all, he took the oath a record 10 times.
00:15But these headlines are set to change that.
00:17As Nitish Kumar heads to the Rajya Sabha, let's take a look at what he did for the state and
00:21what he didn't.
00:22Nitish Kumar first became Chief Minister in 2000, but his term lasted just 7 days.
00:26It was in 2005 that he began a stable stint as Chief Minister.
00:30To understand what lay ahead for him in 2005, we need to look at what he inherited.
00:35The situation in which Nitish Kumar got Bihar in 2005 was absolutely pathetic.
00:40Nitish began by improving roads across the state.
00:43And his tenure was marked by a crackdown on criminal activities.
00:46In 2006, Nitish introduced bicycles for school-going girls.
00:50Many said, Chief Minister ji bitia log ke bigarne mein aagal hain.
00:53But if Bigharna meant a 17.6% decline in school dropouts among girls aged 11-14,
00:58it was something women welcomed with open arms.
01:01That move pays off even today.
01:03Bihar has the highest number of women in the police in any state in the country.
01:07Bihar began to get highways, bridges over the Ganga,
01:10power lines reaching villages that had never seen a bulb light up.
01:13The Bihar Museum in Patna also deserves a mention.
01:27Before you think his administration was perfect,
01:29there are some key areas the Bihar government missed.
01:32Twenty years later, Bihar's per capita income is the lowest of any Indian state.
01:35While crime against women reduced in the initial years of his administration,
01:39the figures increased in his later terms.
01:41The statewide liquor ban sees frequent violations and is criticized for its implementation.
01:46But the biggest criticism of Nitish is how his stand has kept changing.
01:50Nitish Kumar has done a lot of flip-flops as far as ideology is concerned.
01:54His entire politics was based on anti-Congress.
01:58But what happened?
01:59In 2015, in fact, he formed government with the help of RJD and Congress.
02:22This was a fiery speech by Nitish back in the day.
02:24But as age would have it, the 2025 Bihar elections had a much more frail Nitish.
02:29Reports about his health circulated through the campaign.
02:32And yet, Bihar voted him back.
02:34Not for promises.
02:35A farewell gift perhaps.
02:37We'll see Nitish in the Rajya Sabha now, away from the daily affairs of the state.
02:40Naturefall has it.
02:41And no one���ed average.
02:44So many drivers and critics.
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