As soon as Nishant Kumar moves forward BiharStopping to welcome the crowd in villages in West Champaran district, his political party workers have deployed earthmovers to shower them with marigold flowers. MLAs greeted him all along the way; He is embraced and welcomed. Nishant appears overwhelmed, and this is reflected in his reticence. Despite being born in a political family and familiar with the drama and sycophancy that comes with the job, he is not a natural politician.
He climbs up in the lift built into his Traveler to greet people and often comes down to meet them. “This immense love and support received from the public is my biggest strength. (This immense love and support I receive from people is my biggest strength),” he says, ”I hope that the same affection, trust and blessings will continue to be received in the future also, so that this journey of harmony and development continues to move forward.”
He often repeats the words of his father Nitish Kumar. Nitish, who has over 40 years of political experience, is now a Rajya Sabha MP and has paved the way for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate to become the Chief Minister of Bihar. He is the national president of Janata Dal (United), a party formed in 2003.
On the morning of May 3, at Nitish’s residence at 7, Circular Road, Nishant, 44, bends to touch his father’s feet. They embrace. Nitish has recently vacated the chief minister’s bungalow, and this public display of affection symbolizes the passing of the baton. More than that, it signals that Nishant is relying on his father’s work to win people’s trust.
journey of goodwill
Nishant started his Sadbhavna Yatra (Sadbhavna Yatra) from Bagaha in West Bihar; JD(U) president Umesh Singh Kushwaha and party leader and rural development minister Shravan Kumar accompany him, and guide him through the proposals, as Nishant does not have the natural demeanor of a seasoned politician. There is neither any command to control the crowd nor any arrogance of a person born in a job. At least not yet. Champaran district, following the path of his father who started most of his travels from the Champaran region. His first stop in the two-day visit is Hanuman Temple in Patna.
Nishant Kumar met party workers from Bagaha and West Champaran in Bettiah, Bihar on May 4, 2026. Photo courtesy: Sushil Kumar Verma
He was given a warm welcome by party workers and supporters as he passed through five districts before reaching Valmiki Nagar in West Champaran, where he stayed for the night. There, he was welcomed by members of the Tharu community, a Scheduled Tribe that lives in the Tharuhat area along the India-Nepal border.
Bihar JD(U) president Umesh Singh Kushwaha and party leader and rural development minister Shravan Kumar accompany him, and guide him through the proposals, as Nishant does not have the natural demeanor of a seasoned politician. There is neither any command to control the crowd nor any arrogance of a person born in a job. At least not yet.
He repeats the line of following his father’s footsteps in every conversation and ends his speech in less than a minute. Before reaching Valmiki Nagar, he stopped at 15 places where party workers welcomed him.
Manoj Patel, a resident of Bettiah, says, “It seems like he is in training. Why is he scared and stressed? His body language shows that he is facing the crowd for the first time.” “He is not able to handle the crowd effectively. Nitish ji should have launched his son in politics five years ago so that he could get proper training.”
In the background, Nishant says over the loudspeaker: “With the immense public support and blessings of the people, this campaign is not only strengthening the harmony within the society but also infusing new energy into the development and unity of Bihar.”
Nishant Kumar in Bettiah during his ‘Sadbhav Yatra’ that started on Sunday in Bettiah, Bihar, May 3, 2026. Photo courtesy: Sushil Kumar Verma
In Bettiah, Nishant stops to garland the statue of Mahatma Gandhi. Gandhiji started his first Satyagraha from Champaran 109 years ago. About 100 people surrounded Nishant. Unable to reach the idol, he throws the garland at its feet.
Another resident of Bettiah says, “Last year, during the Voters’ Rights Yatra, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had come to this very square. There were more than 10,000 people here. This crowd is nothing. It seems that the local leaders did not give their best in drawing the crowd for Nishant.”
entry into political existence
Nishant joined JDU on March 8, 2026 and started meeting party workers and leaders. Earlier, he had often said that he was not interested in politics and had chosen the path of spirituality, devoting his life to ISKCON and the Hare Rama-Hare Krishna movement. Although he wears the traditional white kurta-pajama of a politician, he was rarely seen at his father’s political rallies.
Sources close to him say that Nishant is a calm person who likes listening to spiritual songs and reading religious scriptures. He stayed away from the limelight by living with his family and never got involved in social controversies.
He graduated in Computer Engineering from Birla Institute of Technology (BIT), Mesra, Ranchi. During his father’s nine terms as Chief Minister, he was rarely seen at government functions.
His father served as chief minister for more than two decades, taking oath for a record 10th term on November 20, 2025. Through several political ups and downs to remain chief minister, Nitish navigated the complex socio-political terrain of Bihar by focusing on improving law and order and promoting governance initiatives.
During his tenure after coming to power in 2005, Nitish made several trips. His last, Samriddhi Yatra (Journey to Prosperity) signaled his exit from Bihar politics ahead of the Rajya Sabha elections.
faced the crowd for the first time
In his first public meeting held at Bapu Sabhagar auditorium in Bettiah, party workers and leaders heard him speaking from a public platform for the first time. Most of the leaders project him as the next Chief Minister of Bihar and claim that he is the future of JD(U).
JDU MLC Bhisham Sahni says, “Nitish Kumar is Nishant and Nishant is Nitish Kumar. The land of Champaran will bless him if he becomes the Chief Minister. Every worker and leader of the party will stand with him like a rock.”
Nishant Kumar during his maiden address to JD(U) party members at Bapu Sabhagar auditorium in Bettiah, Bihar on May 4, 2026. Photo courtesy: Sushil Kumar Verma
Party worker Bhagat Patel present at the venue says, “NitishYes Has not forsaken us; He is in our hearts. When he became the Chief Minister, he was handed over Bihar in a bad condition, but with his hard work and dedication he transformed Bihar. All the party workers want to see NishantYes As the Chief Minister of Bihar in the coming days.”
Another party worker Dharmendra Kumar says that the party will benefit from Nishant’s entry into politics. He says that party workers are excited and happy to see him as Nitish’s successor.
Shatrughan Prasad Kushwaha, a party worker from Bagaha, says, “Nishant is the future of the party and under his leadership the party will flourish not only in Champaran but in entire Bihar. He will strengthen the party at the grassroots level.” No one is sure how.
Another party worker, Mausir Alam, points out that Nitish has maintained a secular image and says his son will do the same despite the party’s alliance with the BJP.
Bagaha District President of JDU Mahila Cell, Aarti Devi says that Nitish has done a lot for the upliftment of women and calls him the creator of modern Bihar. “NitishYes Gave 50% reservation to women in Panchayati Raj institutions and municipal bodies. They also gave us 35% reservation in police force and government jobs. The best scheme she launched was the Mukhyamantri Mahila Rojgar Yojana, under which women were promised ₹10,000,” she says, adding that school uniforms and bicycles distributed to the girls also contributed to their liberation. “We have similar expectations from Nishant also.Yes“
Big leaders are missing from the trip
A large number of women have gathered to see Nishant. Many people are holding placards and banners in which it is written, “What should our leader be like? be like nishant kumar (How should our leader be? Like Nishant Kumar)”. Most of the women are seeing him for the first time, many are hearing his name for the first time.
“I was told that NitishYes When I was coming here, I came to see her, but someone else came. People are saying he is Nitish’s elder son,” says a woman holding Nishant’s placard.
Nishant is the only child of Nitish.
Many local leaders ask why senior party leaders were missing. JDU national working president Sanjay Jha, Union minister Rajeev Ranjan Singh alias Lalan Singh and deputy chief ministers Vijay Kumar Chaudhary and Bijendra Prasad Yadav were absent on both May 3 and May 4.
Describing the visit as historic, Kushwaha said that Nishant will shape the politics of Bihar for the next three or four decades. He says that throughout the journey every community, especially the youth, participated enthusiastically.
“The day NitishYes When the party workers decided to go to Rajya Sabha, they felt darkness. but nishantYes Coming forward to remove that darkness with the hope of a new beginning,” he says.
first political speech
After a series of speeches, by the time Nishant stands up to speak, almost half the auditorium with a capacity of 2,500 has emptied. The hall was full at the beginning of the program. A member of the party asks the crowd standing outside to come inside. Then students wearing Sadbhav Yatra T-shirts enter the auditorium raising slogans in support of Nishant.
Before speaking on stage, Nishant constantly rubs his palms together, shuffles his feet and does not smile. Nishant says, “My father Nitish Kumar has resigned from the post of Chief Minister and has now become a Rajya Sabha member. We all have to accept his decision. I know very well that everyone is disappointed with my father’s decision, but he is still here and guiding us.”
In his 20-minute speech, he focused on the work done by his father as Chief Minister of Bihar in sectors like roads, electricity, drinking water, agriculture, jobs and women upliftment. He congratulated the new National Democratic Alliance government and Chief Minister Samrat Chaudhary.
Challenges ahead for Nishant
Bihar-based political commentator Sanjay Kumar says that Nishant still has a long way to go in politics and currently he lacks spark. He says that with time Nishant can learn the art of politics.
He says, “In his political career, Nitish never supported dynastic politics, but for the survival of his party he finally decided to keep his ideology aside. Nishant has entered politics very late, but his biggest challenge is to keep the party united and strengthen its vote bank.”
Nitish’s vote bank has traditionally included Other Backward Classes (OBC) and Extremely Backward Classes (EBC). According to the 2023 caste-based survey of Bihar, the share of OBCs in the state’s population is 27.12%, while the share of EBCs is 36.01%. Overall, they form more than 63% of the population of Bihar.
On May 8, Nishant was included in the Bihar cabinet as Health Minister. Many JD(U) leaders believe that he could have chosen the post of Deputy Chief Minister, but he chose to start by earning the trust of the people and the party.
