India, March 9 -- For a man destined to become one of India's most-storied politicians, Nitish Kumar had a rather bumpy electoral start. Swept up in the post-Emergency fervour in 1977, Kumar, then 26, decided to take the electoral plunge from Harnaut - a region roiled at the time by clashes between Dalit farmhands demanding better wages, working conditions and land rights, and their landlords who hailed from the same caste as Kumar.

By then, Indira Gandhi had been deposed in the general elections. Facing him was another Kurmi, Bhola Singh - a family acquaintance who had driven Kumar and his new bride during their wedding in his Fiat four years before. Kumar's spirits were high. He had the Janata's endorsement. Singh was an independent ca...