Hyderabad, Nov. 27 -- The difficulty Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar faced while taking oath on November 20 reminded one of the campaign undertaken by his frail-looking mentor, George Fernandes, during the 2009 Lok Sabha election. The founder of Samata Party, the earlier version of Janata Dal (United), was denied ticket by none else but his most trusted disciple on the grounds of poor health. Fernandes was then suffering from Parkinson and Alzheimer diseases, yet he insisted on contesting the election.

Fernandes then made a scathing attack on Nitish and termed him a dictator who had hijacked the party. But since the Bihar chief minister was at the top of the world then, Fernandes' decision to contest as an Independent from his constitu...