India, Nov. 17 -- It was a bright morning towards the end of 2009. We were having tea with a close confidante of Nitish Kumar. I asked him what was the secret of his leader's success. He said, "On the chessboard of politics Nitish babu, like a knight, can move two-and-a-half paces forward and backward simultaneously. His right hand is unaware of what his left hand is about to do." He insisted that even those closest to Nitish seldom knew what he would do the next moment. "Nitish babu maintains political decency and never launches any personal attacks on his opponents. This is the reason his friends are wary and foes are expectant. He will definitely have a couple of people in the opposite camp, as a need may arise to align with them in the future. He believes in Chanakya's axiom that, in politics or in life, there are no permanent friends or foes," he added. Now that he's ready to take oath as chief minister (CM) for the 10th time, the question is: How did a politician who could never muster a majority on his own end up being an irreplaceable power pivot in Bihar politics? How will future students of political science view the Nitish phenomenon? To find answers to these questions, we'll have to rewind to 31 years ago. It was 1994. Nitish formed the Samata Party with the help of firebrand socialist leader George Fernandes. During the 1995 state assembly elections, the party declared Nitish as the chief ministerial candidate but despite all the efforts, he could only win seven seats by securing just 7.1% of votes. In 2000, five years later, the Samata Party improved its tally to win 34 seats. In that election, the BJP won 67 seats. Nitish did take oath as the CM, but the government lasted barely a week. Nitish realised that to break Lalu's spell on people, he would have to work on the ground. He did exactly that before the next assembly elections. In 2005, he undertook a state wide nyay yatra (march for justice). In 2003, he formed the Janata Dal (United) or JD(U) with Fernandes. In the 2005 elections, the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) formally declared him as its CM candidate. In February 2005, JD(U) secured 55 seats and the BJP 37, but the alliance couldn't form the government in Patna. Ram Vilas Paswan refused to support them and the majority mark eluded them. Paswan's intransigence led to the dissolution of the assembly. State assembly elections were held again in November 2005. The JD(U) secured 88 and the BJP got 55 seats. With such a comfortable majority, Nitish Kumar became the CM and, barring a short period, he has been in the saddle for the last two decades. During this time, he even fought elections alongside the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and won. But, given that it was a mismatch to begin with, the alliance unravelled in less than two years. However, in 2022, he once again became a part of Mahagathbandhan along with the RJD and the Congress. However, differences resurfaced and the alliance couldn't go beyond its second year. That said, don't be under the impression that Nitish is a turncoat who's driven by selfish motives to cling to power at any cost. Had that been the case he wouldn't have resigned after a poor show of his party in 2014. At that time, he put Jiten Ram Manjhi at the helm, a Dalit, as CM. The trust between Manjhi and Kumar broke down soon. Nitish may not accept it, but the fact is the BJP has been his most stable ally. Nitish knows very well that he needs control of the secretariat in Patna to bring his vision and ideals to fruition. He has proved his worth. His initiatives for the women of Bihar will remain securely embedded in the history of the state. The Bihar police force has a strong presence of women, with 37% of the strength. Nitish was the first one to initiate a policy to offer every family a home and every home a drinking water connection. Prohibition was a tough call. It had an adverse impact on the state exchequer, but women in Bihar's rural areas consider it a highly beneficial move. It is under his rule that the quality of roads and law and order improved substantially. Not only women, he has expanded his vote bank by working towards empowering the mahadalits and extremely backward communities. This stratification reflects his deep political understanding. Another interesting fact is that even after being in the saddle for two decades, his "Mr Clean" image is still intact. No one can accuse him of personal corruption. It is not easy to remain spotlessly clean in a coal mine. However, there is still a lot he hasn't been able to achieve. Nationally, Bihar is still at the bottom of the heap as far as per capita income of the states is concerned. After such a long stint as CM, he hasn't been able to bring back industries that left the state during the Lalu rule. The exodus of the talented and the working age population is still a sore point in the state. The question that arises as he prepares to take oath as CM once again, will the aging statesman be able to take effective steps to stem the tide of migration? These questions, however, can wait; it is now the time to congratulate the winner....