India, March 5 -- When Nitish Kumar took oath as Bihar chief minister (CM) for the 10th time on November 20, 2025, he set a record for being sworn in to the office for the most number of times. By filing his nomination for the Rajya Sabha on Thursday, Nitish has tendered his de facto resignation as CM, making his 10th term the shortest in office when his alliance had a clear majority. An official declaration is still awaited, but it is widely expected that the new CM in Bihar will be from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the biggest constituent of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) legislative group in the state assembly and the national political hegemon.

What is one to make of this transition?

If one were to cast aside history, i...