Laloo's nemesis begins second ministerial term
Firebrand Samata Party leader and one-time
close confidant of former Bihar chief minister Laloo Prasad Yadav,
Nitish Kumar began his second term as a Union minister today. He is also
president of the party's Bihar unit.
Nitish Kumar, who came into the limelight as a student leader
during the Navnirman movement of Jayaprakash Narayan, was
first elected to the Bihar assembly in 1985. In 1989 he was
elected to the Lok Sabha for the first time from Barh in Bihar, and has represented it for four consecutive terms.
His first ministerial stint was in 1989, when V P Singh made him minister of state for agriculture and co-operatives.
Yuva Lok Dal president during 1987-88, Nitish Kumar was made
Janata Dal general secretary in 1989. He played a key role in
getting Laloo Prasad Yadav elected chief minister of Bihar in
1990. Later, Nitish Kumar fell out with Laloo Yadav, severed his links with the Janata Dal
and formed the Samata Party.
During the 1995 Vidhan Sabha election in Bihar, the Samata Party
was routed, but Nitish Kumar made it to the assembly from Harnaut.
In the 1996 Lok Sabha election, he once again won from Barh despite stiff
opposition from Laloo Prasad Yadav, and duplicated the feat again in 1998.
UNI
Elections '98
Tell us what you think of this report
|