Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Oct 4: The Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, who a decade ago had quit the NDA in protest against Mr Narendra Modi, then Gujarat chief minister, named as the prime ministerial candidate of the coalition, is completely a changed person now.
On Saturday, Mr Nitish Kumar virtually attended a skill convocation ceremony for ITI toppers from across the country where Prime Minister Modi presented certificates to the students under the Kaushal Deekshant Samaroh 2025 initiative.
The chief minister drew attention after he sat with folded hands for what seemed like a long time, nearly a minute, while another leader read out details of the programme. He slightly shook his hands as he kept them folded, and looked sideways for a moment. He also smiled at one point. Not long ago, Kumar was also once caught trying to touch Mr Modi’s feet at a public gathering.
Kumar, who also heads the Janata Dal (United), has faced questions from the Opposition over his health. They have often attacked him over what they called unstable and erratic behaviour in public of late, and raised concerns on his ability to run the state. With the Bihar assembly election set to be held soon, Kumar is likely to face more attacks from rivals over his inexplicable gestures in public.
In March, he came under Opposition attack after he was seen on camera laughing and talking during the national anthem at a sports event in Patna. His Principal Secretary Deepak Kumar was seen pulling at the chief minister’s sleeves to get him to stay still. Earlier too, Kumar walked off the dais when the national anthem was announced and went to shake hands with participants at an event.
Kumar was also seen placing his arm around a woman’s shoulder at an event to mark the launch of central and state projects in Patna in March. This provoked a backlash from the opposition Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD). The JD(U) and its ally BJP have publicly defended him even as the Opposition stepped up their attacks.
Long before the Opposition raised questions on his health, Kumar had built a reputation for his spontaneous and unconventional gestures that made headlines. As recently as in May, he left people surprised and amused at an event in Patna when he placed a sapling on an officer’s head. The Education Department officer, S Siddharth, had presented the sapling to the chief minister as part of the customary welcome.
While such acts were sometimes seen as humorous or symbolic, they also drew criticism from political opponents, particularly from RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav. It was just a day ago that Kumar held a meeting with some 400 JD(U) workers from across the state at his house in Patna to discuss the upcoming assembly election. The event highlighted the JD(U) chief is in charge and ready for the big battle, despite what the Opposition says about his health.
Meanwhile, in Tamil Nadu in a bid to corner the ruling DMK, the BJP is learnt to have reached out to South superstar Vijay’s party days after the Karur stampede, said sources, hinting that the saffron party is working to utilise the actor’s massive fan base to improve its chances in the 2026 Tamil Nadu assembly elections.
A senior BJP leader has communicated to the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) leadership that Vijay would not be alone if he was unfairly targeted by the DMK, they added. The BJP has informed the TVK that it too wanted to corner the DMK and advised Vijay to keep patience, sources said, as the actor tries to tide over the stampede crisis in which 41 people were killed, that has led to uncertainty over his future political rallies. Vijay had also thanked political leaders who supported him after the tragedy.
Besides the BJP, the Congress too had reached out to the TVK, indicating that national parties are perceiving it as an opportunity to leave a mark in the state politics dominated by the Dravidian majors, DMK and AIADMK. The recent political churning must be seen in the context of the changing political dynamics in Tamil Nadu. Vijay had earlier announced that the TVK would contest solo in the 2026 elections, but the latest developments could reshape his strategies.