Bihar CM Nitish Kumar turns 73 today! PM Modi 'pray for his ally's long life' on birthday

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday extended birthday wishes to Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar who turned 73 years old today. In a post on X (formerly Twitter), PM Modi wrote, “Best wishes to Bihar CM Nitish Kumar on his birthday.”

“Praying for his long and healthy life in service of the people,” the Prime Minister added.

Nitish Kumar met PM Modi in New Delhi on February 7. This was the first visit of the Janata Dal (United) supremo after he dumped the Mahagathbandhan (grand alliance) and the INDIA bloc to form a new government with the support of the Bharatiya Janata Party in Bihar.

The meeting took place five days ahead of Nitish Kumar's government's scheduled floor test on February 12. He also met Union Home Minister Amit Shah after meeting PM Modi.

Nitish Kumar took the oath as Chief Minister of Bihar for the ninth time in Raj Bhawan, Patna, switching sides again, this time with the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA). It was for the second time in two years that Nitish Kumar had jumped the ship, his fifth crossover in a little over a decade.

After parting ways with the BJP in 2022, Nitish Kumar took on the initiative of uniting all opposition forces to jointly take on PM Modi and the ruling party in the national election.

In 2000, Nitish became CM for the first time after campaigning against RJD supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav's 'Jungle Raaj'. Till now, he has been Bihar's CM on eight occasions. In 2013, Nitish broke ranks with the NDA after a 17-year alliance following the announcement of Narendra Modi as the BJP's prime ministerial candidate.

In 2017, Nitish forged a grand alliance with the RJD and Congress and returned as chief minister in 2015. He walked out of the grand alliance in 2017, accusing the RJD of corruption and choking governance in the state.

In 2022, Nitish Kumar snapped ties with the BJP once again, alleging the BJP was conspiring against him and trying to influence JD-U MLAs to rebel against him.