Nitish Kumar (born 1 March 1951) is an Indian politician and the leader of the Janata Dal (United). He has been Chief Minister of Bihar for most of the period since 2005, longer than anyone else, and took the oath of office for the tenth time in November 2025. An engineer who entered politics through the student movement of the 1970s, he earlier served as Union Minister for Railways. He is credited with improving roads, power supply and law and order in Bihar and is known for switching alliance partners several times.
Quick Facts
| Full name | Nitish Kumar |
| Born | 1 March 1951, Bakhtiyarpur, Bihar, India |
| Age | 75 |
| Party | Janata Dal (United) |
| Office | Chief Minister of Bihar (2005–2014; 2015–present) |
| Earlier offices | Union Minister for Railways, Agriculture and Surface Transport |
| Education | Bihar College of Engineering, Patna (B.Sc. Electrical Engineering) |
| Spouse | Manju Kumari Sinha (m. 1973; d. 2007) |
| Children | 1 (Nishant) |
Early Life
Kumar was born in Bakhtiyarpur, near Patna. His father, Kaviraj Ram Lakhan Singh, was an Ayurvedic practitioner and freedom fighter. He graduated in electrical engineering from the Bihar College of Engineering (now NIT Patna) in 1972 and worked briefly for the state electricity board.
Political Career
He joined Jayaprakash Narayan’s movement against the government of Indira Gandhi and was jailed during the Emergency. He was elected to the Bihar assembly in 1985 and to the Lok Sabha from Barh in 1989. Once an ally of Lalu Prasad Yadav, he broke away in 1994 to form the Samata Party with George Fernandes, which allied with the BJP.
In Atal Bihari Vajpayee‘s governments he was Minister for Railways, Surface Transport and Agriculture. He resigned as Railway Minister after the Gaisal train disaster of 1999 and later returned to the post, introducing internet ticket booking and the Tatkal scheme.
After a seven-day term in 2000, he led the JD(U)–BJP alliance to victory in November 2005, ending fifteen years of rule by Lalu Prasad’s party. His government built roads and bridges, gave bicycles to schoolgirls, reserved half the seats in village councils for women and brought in prohibition of alcohol in 2016. He left the BJP alliance in 2013, joined hands with Lalu Prasad in 2015, returned to the BJP in 2017, went back to the opposition in 2022 and rejoined the BJP-led alliance in January 2024. The alliance won a large majority in the November 2025 election.
Personal Life
Kumar married Manju Kumari Sinha, a schoolteacher, in 1973; she died in 2007. They have a son, Nishant. He is known for his simple lifestyle.
Offices Held
Frequently Asked Questions
When and where was Nitish Kumar born?
Nitish Kumar was born on 1 March 1951 in Bakhtiyarpur, Bihar, India and is 75 years old.
Featured image: Nitish Kumar (right) presents a memento to Prime Minister Narendra Modi at an event in Begusarai, Bihar, 2 March 2024. Photo by Prime Minister’s Office, licensed under Government Open Data License – India, via Wikimedia Commons.
