Bihar Election 2025: Nitish Kumar’s Education And Political Legacy; A Complete Profile

Nitish Kumar, who is the current Chief Minister of Bihar and the president of the Janata Dal (United), was born in 1951 in Bakhtiarpur. His family has a long history of being involved in India's freedom movement. Nitish Kumar's early views were formed by growing up in a politically aware and culturally rich environment.

Let’s dive into his academic qualifications

School life

He started going to school in Bakhtiarpur, where he was noted for being very disciplined in his studies. He did very well in school and always impressed his teachers. For higher studies, he went to Shree Ganesh Strong School.

College life

His accomplishments helped him get into the well-known Patna Science College, which is part of Patna University. There, he did his pre-university studies. He got his Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from the Bihar College of Engineering (now the National Institute of Technology (NIT), Patna) in 1972. While he was at the institute, he was involved in technical groups and hands-on engineering projects, which gave him real-world experience with energy and infrastructure systems. After he graduated, he worked for a short time with the Bihar State Electricity Board.

Political career

Nitish Kumar has held a wide range of political positions throughout his long career. He began as a Member of the Bihar Legislative Assembly from 1985 to 1989, during which he served on the Committee on Petitions and the Committee on Public Undertakings, and also became President of Yuva Lok Dal in Bihar. In 1989, he was appointed Secretary-General of the Janata Dal in Bihar and was elected to the 9th Lok Sabha. He briefly served as Union Minister of State for Agriculture and Cooperation in 1990. Re-elected to the 10th Lok Sabha in 1991, he served as General Secretary of Janata Dal, Deputy Leader of the party in Parliament, and a member or chairman of several key committees, including the Railway Convention Committee and the Committee on Agriculture.

He continued his parliamentary journey with victories in the 11th, 12th, and 13th Lok Sabha elections, holding major Union Cabinet portfolios such as Railways, Surface Transport, and Agriculture between 1998 and 2004. Nitish Kumar briefly served as Chief Minister of Bihar in 2000 before returning to Union ministries. In 2005, he assumed office as Chief Minister again and went on to serve successive terms from 2005 to 2010, 2010 to 2014, and from February 2015 onward. Throughout his career, he also served on important committees like Coal & Steel, Privileges, General Purposes, and led the Janata Dal (United) Parliamentary Party in the Lok Sabha.

Published on: Friday, November 14, 2025, 03:25 PM IST