Though it has not been decided what role Nishant Kumar, son of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, is going to play in the days to come, but he has started moving around Bihar meeting the people.
For the first time, in the individual capacity, he has started inspecting the developmental work which has been launched or started by his father Mr. Nitish Kumar. In the last two months, he has made at least half a dozen public appearances.
On Saturday (February 14, 2026), Mr. Nishant Kumar visited the Dashrath Manjhi Memorial in Gaya ji where he paid his respects at the memorial. He received the blessings from his son Bhagirath Manjhi and met with other family members. He also inquired about their well-being after touching the feet of Mr. Bhagirath Manjhi.
He then visited the mountain where Dashrath Manjhi had carved a wide road from the hills of Gehlaur. It took Dashrath Manjhi 22 years to carve out 110 meter long, 9 meter wide and 7.6-meter-deep road working alone with a pair of hammer and chisel. Through his hard work the distance between Atri and Wazirganj has come down to 15 km from 55 km.
Mr. Nishant Kumar paid tribute to Dashrath Manjhi’s incredible determination and love for his late wife, saluting his struggle as he had pledged to cut the mountain after his wife, Faguni Devi, had died after she fell down while carrying lunch for him.
After meeting the Chief Minister’s son Mr. Bhagirath Manjhi said, “He asked about my well-being and praised my father. Happy to see CM’s son at my house.”
He not only met Mr. Bhagirathi Manjhi but also inspected the Teter Reservoir under the Ganga Water Supply Scheme, one of the dream projects of Bihar CM.
Mr. Nishant Kumar inquired about the progress of the scheme and operation of the reservoir, in response the officials explained that Ganga water is brought via pipeline from Hathidah Ghat, Mokama (Patna), and after being purified through reservoirs and water treatment plants, it is made available as drinking water to the people of Gaya ji.
He has never ever done such work and it was for the first time that he was asking for information about the developmental projects.
After reviewing his father’s ambitious projects and paying tribute to the Dashrath Manjhi village, he also walked barefoot at Vishnupad Temple in Bodh Gaya to perform worship.
Earlier on January 1, Mr. Nishant Kumar visited his ancestral village, Kalyanbigha in Nalanda, where the Bihar CM had gone to pay a floral tribute to his mother Parmeshwari Devi on her death anniversary.
Hundreds of party workers had gathered outside the district’s guest house to meet Mr. Nishant Kumar. Many even shouted slogans Bihar ke Neta Kaisa of Nishant Kumar Jaisa Ho (how would be Bihar’s leader, It would be like Nishant Kumar).
“In days to come, he is going to visit the entire Bihar to take stock of the developmental projects and all other important projects including Saat-Nischay (seven resolve) which is one of the most important works of Nitish ji,” said a senior party leader in the organisation.
The 49-year-old software engineer from BIT Mesra Ranchi never used to mingle with people and seldom attended any public function.
Mr. Nishant Kumar, who rarely makes public appearances, is known for his austerity in private life. Till now, he has maintained a distance from politics, but now he has become active and also started attending the wedding ceremonies and functions of people who are close to him or his father.
On February 4, he visited Vrindavan in Mathura and was seen roaming the streets of the spiritual city on an e-rickshaw. There was hardly any security and not even following the VIP protocol. Locals saw him moving around casually like a common devotee.
Sources in the party said that Mr. Nishant Kumar, who was earlier not ready to enter into politics, has now decided to follow the path of his father. Keeping the health issues of the Bihar CM in mind, the move will also help Mr. Nishant to get familiar with the people’s mood before he gets any responsibility in the party.
“After Nitish ji, party workers will only trust his son and nobody else. So, to save the party and its future, it is important for Nishant to step into his father’s shoes as soon as possible,“ said another senior leader of the party who is also a member of the Legislative Assembly.
Earlier, Rashtriya Lok Morcha (RLM) president and Rajya Sabha member Upendra Kushwaha had urged Mr. Nitish Kumar to transfer JD-(U)’s responsibility to his son Mr. Nishant Kumar.
Mr. Kushwaha had expressed apprehension that delay in transferring the responsibility can cause irreparable loss to the party asserting that perhaps such a loss which can never be compensated.
Published – February 18, 2026 01:31 am IST
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