In Bihar, a state he has led for 20 years, trends from the first rounds of counting once again demonstrated Nitish Kumar's continuing resilience as a political force.
At 11.30 a.m., his Janata Dal (United) was leading in 83 of Bihar's 243 seats, making it the state's largest party. This was far more than the Rashtriya Janata Dal's (RJD) 33 seats and even more than its alliance partner, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which was leading in 78.
With just 43 seats, his party finished as the third-largest in 2020, therefore this represents a dramatic change.
Despite worries about his health, experts said the triumph dispelled reservations about the seasoned leader's capacity to convert goodwill into votes.

Nitish Kumar reached his peak in the 2010 election, when the JD(U) won 115 seats and the BJP won 91, crushing the RJD. According to social researcher MK Choudhary, "repeating a similar performance speaks volumes of his acceptance levels."
His party's leaders said that Kumar operated covertly.
"Nitish Kumar deserves praise for his statewide campaigning efforts. He operated in silence, but the public's reaction suggested that they had decided to use their votes to create a lot of noise. According to JD(U) working president Sanjay Kumar Jha, "the people's mindset has changed and they are more aspirational now, while the opposition kept treating them the old way."

Nitish Kumar's appeal, according to JD(U) spokesperson Neeraj Kumar, relied on a "inclusive model to win over all sections" rather than identity politics.
"The fact that so many women are casting ballots speaks volumes about the change. The opposition did not want to read what was written on the wall, he claimed.