Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has made his fifth U-turn in terms of political loyalties, taking the oath of office for the ninth time on Sunday evening. This time, he is back in the NDA fold, with the BJP embracing the renewed alliance, the upcoming Lok Sabha election very much on their minds.
While Mr. Kumar’s frequent flip-flops have now acquired cult status, his easy embrace by once-spurned allies — both the BJP and earlier, the Rashtriya Janata Dal — is also a factor. After all, newly sworn-in Deputy Chief Minister and BJP legislature party leader Samrat Choudhary had once vowed that he would not take off his saffron turban till he had “dethroned” Mr. Kumar — only to be sworn in to office alongside the CM, with his turban still on.
