India, Nov. 15 -- When Nitish Kumar first took oath as the chief minister of India's second-most populous state in March 2000, there were no smartphones or Aadhaar cards, internet services were largely patchy dial-up connections, only one city in India had a short 4km metro railway, and Narendra Modi had not even stepped into public office.

Though that stint in power was short lived - Kumar led a minority regime that wilted in the face of Lalu Prasad's numerically stronger and muscular coalition - the man who began his political journey as a student leader in the Bihar College of Engineering has crafted a remarkably agile and durable career over the past 25 years. He has won four consecutive terms in Bihar, swapped partners four times, s...