Nitish Kumar: The Man of Many U-Turns | A Timeline

New Delhi: Bihar Chief Minister and Janata Dal United (JDU) chief Nitish Kumar, whose political journey has been marked by volte face more than once – over the years – stepped down from his post on Sunday, saying "things were not working well" for him in the Mahagathbandhan, he had joined less than 18 months ago and the opposition bloc INDI. Talking to reporters here after submitting his resignation to Governor Rajendra Arlekar, Kumar, who is likely to form a new government with the support of the BJP, said, "If the parties which were with me earlier agree to come together, you will get to know what happens next".

"I have submitted my resignation to the Governor. The government that was in place now comes to an end. I have let it go", said Kumar, who stopped briefly to talk to reporters outside the Raj Bhavan, which is a stone's throw from his official residence.

He added, "You all know how I came to this alliance and also how I worked to bring together so many parties. But of late things were not working well. It was not going down well with those in my party as well", said Kumar.  Amid all these, take a look at how Nitish Kumar projected himself as a ‘Man of Many U Turns’. 

 A look at all the times when Nitish Kumar switched sides. 

• 1996: Just two years after announcing the formation of the Samata Party with George Fernandes, Kumar made a significant political shift by aligning with the BJP, when he was even made minister in the Vajpayee cabinet.
• 2003: Years later, Nitish, once again, decided to switch sides by merging his Samata Party with the Lalu Prasad Yadav-led Rashatriya Janata Dal (RJD) after the latter had announced split with Sharad Yadav. The alliance forged thereof, came to be known as the Janata Dal (United).
• 2013: Soon after Narendra Modi was announced as the BJP's then prime ministerial candidate, Kumar parted ways with the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) after a 17-year-long duration of having worked together.
• 2015: Kumar, once again, forged an alliance – this time, a rather grand version – with the RJD and the Congress, following which he returned as the chief minister of the state.
• 2017: Just two years into the grand coalition (or the ‘Mahagathbandhan’, as it is called), Kumar accused its key alliance partner – the RJD – of corruption in the state, and eventually broke out of the coalition, to partner with the NDA, once again.
• 2022: Five years later, Kumar again snapped ties with the saffron party, only to form a new government with the RJD as its partner, following which, he once again returned as the chief minister, with RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav being his deputy.