Patna, March 9, 2025 – As Bihar’s political landscape continues to evolve, the historical rivalry between Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Lalu Prasad Yadav remains a subject of fascination. A question often revisited is whether Nitish Kumar “made” Lalu Prasad the Chief Minister of Bihar in 1990. While the two are bitter rivals today, they were once comrades-in-arms within the Janata Dal, part of a rising cadre of next-generation leaders determined to upend the old guard and reshape the state’s politics. The events of 1990, when Lalu ascended to the top job, were a turning point—but the narrative of Nitish’s role is more complex than a simple kingmaker tale.
In the late 1980s, Bihar’s political scene was dominated by the Congress, which had held power for decades. The Janata Dal, born from the Janata Party’s splintering and led nationally by V.P. Singh, emerged as a formidable alternative, riding a wave of anti-Congress sentiment fueled by the Bofors scandal and Mandal Commission debates. Within Bihar, the party’s leadership included seasoned figures like Chief Minister Ram Sundar Das and Chandra Shekhar, but a younger cohort—Lalu Prasad, Nitish Kumar, and others—sought to wrest control and assert their vision.
The 1989 Lok Sabha elections set the stage. The Janata Dal, allied with the BJP and Left parties, swept Bihar, winning 31 of 54 seats, with Lalu and Nitish both securing victories—Lalu from Chapra and Nitish from Barh. This momentum carried into the 1990 Bihar Assembly elections, where the Janata Dal coalition clinched 141 seats (Janata Dal: 122, BJP: 39, CPI: 23), trouncing Congress’s 71. Ram Sundar Das, a veteran socialist, initially assumed the chief ministership on March 10, 1990, backed by the party’s high command.
However, the younger leaders, including Lalu and Nitish, were restless. They viewed Das and the old guard as out of touch with Bihar’s shifting social dynamics, particularly the rising aspirations of backward castes and marginalized communities. Lalu, a charismatic Yadav leader with a rustic appeal, and Nitish, a Kurmi strategist known for his organizational skills, shared an ambition to dislodge the establishment and stamp their authority. Their opportunity came amid internal factionalism and external pressures.
By mid-1990, V.P. Singh’s national government faced turmoil over the Mandal Commission report, which recommended reservations for Other Backward Classes (OBCs). Lalu, an ardent supporter of Mandal, saw it as a chance to consolidate his base among Bihar’s backward castes. Nitish, too, backed the cause, though his approach was more measured. Meanwhile, Chandra Shekhar, a rival to V.P. Singh, began maneuvering to topple Das and install a loyalist, leveraging his influence in Delhi.
On December 6, 1990, with Das’s position weakening, Lalu and Nitish, alongside allies like Sharad Yadav, orchestrated a swift coup within the Janata Dal legislature party. Historical accounts suggest Nitish played a key role in mobilizing MLAs, using his grassroots network to swing support toward Lalu. “Nitish was the quiet architect; Lalu was the face,” recalls veteran journalist Sankarshan Thakur, author of The Brothers Bihari. Lalu’s populist charisma and caste arithmetic— Yadavs formed a significant voting bloc—made him the natural choice for the top job. That day, Ram Sundar Das resigned, and Lalu Prasad was elected leader of the Janata Dal legislature party, becoming Chief Minister at age 42.
Did Nitish “make” Lalu? Not quite. While Nitish’s strategic support was instrumental, Lalu’s rise was a collective effort fueled by their shared goal of upending the old order. Nitish, then a first-time MLA, lacked the mass appeal to claim the post himself, and Lalu’s ascent aligned with the Mandal wave sweeping north India. However, their alliance soon frayed. By 1994, Nitish broke away to form the Samata Party, frustrated by Lalu’s governance style and the RJD’s dominance, setting the stage for their decades-long rivalry.
Today, as of March 9, 2025, Nitish governs Bihar with the BJP, while Lalu’s RJD leads the opposition. Posts on X often revisit their 1990 partnership with nostalgia or irony, with one user quipping, “Lalu and Nitish were the original disruptors—now they can’t stand each other.” What happened in 1990 wasn’t Nitish crowning Lalu but a generational shift they both engineered, with Lalu emerging as the face of that upheaval. Bihar’s politics, for better or worse, has never been the same since.