Patna: Nitish Kumar took oath as the Bihar Chief Minister, this time with the support of the BJP-led NDA, for the record ninth time after deserting the Opposition bloc INDIA just months ahead of the crucial Lok Sabha elections.

This is the fifth time the JD (U) chief jumped sides in the course of a decade, earning him the pejorative “Paltu Kumar.”

Exasperated with Nitish’s opportunistic attitude, just a year ago, Union Home Minister Amit Shah had said that the BJP had closed its doors to JDU leader Nitish Kumar, asserting that the NDA would not ally with him in the future.

Until a few months back, Nitish Kumar was a prominent figure in the Opposition's INDIA bloc and played a leading role in uniting various parties to challenge the formidable BJP, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said that Kumar had been instrumental in convening INDIA meetings, and the Opposition bloc anticipated his commitment to fighting against the BJP until the end. However, his recent change of stance has put the INDIA bloc in an awkward position months before the Lok Sabha polls, lending support to the BJP's argument that the Opposition alliance is inherently unstable.

Nitish Kumar had been unhappy with Congress’s attitude and accused it of assuming a "big brother" role in the alliance and causing delays in the discussions about seat-sharing.

It is needless to say that Nitish switched sides after he realised that his aspiration to lead the INDIA bloc and get an edge over the other parties fell flat. His hopes were dashed after Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge was picked up to helm the coalition following AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal and Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee’s recommendation.

His rift with RJD had been also widening. According to political observers, Nitish’s decision to leave INDIA was fuelled by a social media attack by RJD leader Lalu Yadav’s daughter Rohini Acharya, who called him a leader of no principle. She also indirectly targeted Kumar’s son saying he was not suitable for a career in public life.

Nitish Kumar’s once-held image as 'Sushashan Babu,' the development-oriented man, has now been replaced by the perception of 'Paltu Kumar,' the one who frequently switches sides.

The JDU's strength in the Assembly has considerably decreased, dropping from 115 seats in the 2010 Bihar polls to 71 in 2015 and further down to just 43 in 2020.

As a result, his party holds the position of the third-largest force in the Assembly though Kumar is the Chief Minister's chair.