Effective crime control earned Chief Minister Nitish Kumar a big feather in his cap after he ousted the Lalu Prasad-led Rashtriya Janata Dal from power in 2005 state assembly polls. Crime had become the order of the day during the 15-year-long RJD regime in Bihar which was often derisively referred to as a 'lawless state'. Nitish dealt with the rampant lawlessness in Bihar with an iron hand.