Samrat Choudhary Wednesday took over as the first BJP chief minister with two deputies from Janata Dal (United) — Bijendra Prasad Yadav and Vijay Kumar Choudhary. A full-fledged cabinet expansion is likely after the West Bengal Assembly poll results. Samrat succeeded , now a Rajya Sabha MP.
The oath-taking ceremony at Bihar Lok Bhavan was a low-key affair despite the importance of the occasion, especially as the BJP got its own chief minister 44 years after the Bharatiya Jan Sangh (former form of the BJP) in 1962. Neither Prime Minister Narendra Modi nor Union Home Minister attended, though BJP national president Nitin Nabin, former BJP president JP Nadda and national general secretary BL Santhosh were present.
Outgoing chief minister Nitish Kumar was present, as were LJP (R) head , RLM chief and HAM (S) patron Jitan Ram Manjhi. Leader of Opposition Tejashwi Prasad Yadav skipped the event.
Tarapur Assembly constituency in Munger, became the 24th Bihar CM and the second from the OBC Kushwaha community after the five-day stint of Satish Prasad Singh in 1968. He is likely to retain Home, General Administration and some other key departments.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi posted on X: “Many congratulations and best wishes to Samrat Choudhary on becoming Chief Minister of Bihar. His energy, dedication to public service and grassroots experience are going to be very helpful. I have full faith that Bihar will scale new heights of all-round success.” Responding, CM Samrat Choudhary wrote: “Under your illustrious leadership, we will work with complete dedication to realise the goal of a developed Bihar, driven by inclusive growth, good governance and public welfare.”
Former CM Nitish Kumar wrote: “Heartiest congratulations and best wishes to Samrat Choudhary on taking oath as the new Chief Minister of Bihar today. I am confident that under your leadership, Bihar will develop even more rapidly and join the ranks of the country’s most developed states.”
JD(U) sources, however, said Nishant Kumar had been ready to take over as Deputy CM but had to back out at the last moment. While he aspired for a single deputy CM post and a more unified command, party seniors insisted on having two deputies. Nishant is likely to embark on a Bihar yatra soon to focus on organisational work.
BJP sources also hinted at some disquiet over Samrat Choudhary’s elevation, as he “does not come from an ABVP/RSS background”. The party is learnt to have conceded to JD(U)’s push for his appointment. The state unit also avoided loud celebrations, suggesting unease over the choice.
