VICTOR’S SPOILS

Coveted as it was, the honour of being the chief minister of Bihar for a fourth consecutive term and a record seventh time, it was by no means easy for Nitish Kumar to accept it. At the end of a nail-biter of an election, the ruling NDA (National Democratic Alliance) has a wafer-thin majority, and his own party, the Janata Dal (United), is a much-diminished entity in the new assembly—43 seats against 71 in the previous house. For comparison, ally BJP has 74 seats, and Nitish is already feeling the weight of a more assertive partner. His old trusty deputy, Sushil Modi of the BJP, has been sidelined in the new cabinet, and two new faces have taken his place as deputy chief ministers.

Sources say Nitish had initially refused to lead