Nitish Kumar has been the subject of talk on social media platforms and levity the mood for many who used wordplay, snappy one-liners and cartoons to lampoon the Bihar chief minister for forming a new government with the BJP in another political somersault.

'Paltu Chacha', 'Paltu Putra' and 'Paltu Ram'… the names were many. As political pundits analysed the JD-U chief's latest move, humour in its many shades rolled out on Whatsapp, X, Facebook and Instagram with netizens putting on their comic caps, referencing the corporate world, cinema and cricket to make their points.

'He Nitished me' went the 'translation' for 'Usne mujhe dokha diya' in a WhatsApp forward, the wordplay turning the veteran politician's name into a verb. A new coinage as it were for 'cheating'.

Tongue firmly in cheek, a post on X by the handle Kungfu Pande listed five corporate lessons. 'Work like Nitish kumar, Love your job, not your company,' it said. '5. Always be flexible. 4. Switch at the right time. 3. Never burn the bridges. 2. Be open to join the company again. Last but not the least… 1. Never quit without another offer in the hand,' the post read.

Kumar on Sunday resigned as chief minister of Bihar, saying 'things were not working well' for him in the 'Mahagathbandhan' and the opposition bloc INDIA. In his fifth switch in over a decade, he formed a new government with the BJP, a party he had dumped 18 months ago, and was sworn in as chief minister of the state for the ninth time.

Journalist Madhavan Narayanan suggested a cricket tournament format with a minor tweak in the rule of the game. 'BCCI is thinking of starting a new cricket tournament format to boost revenues and the game's mass appeal. Halfway through a match the captain will be allowed to switch sides. It is going to be called the Nitish Cup,' he posted on X.

X user D Muthukrishnan propped Kumar as a 'role model' for CEOs. 'If you got selected as CEO for 9 times despite all mergers and acquisitions, you're the role model for CEOs in corporate India,' he posted.