Samrat Choudhary has been elected as the leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party legislative party in Bihar, effectively confirming him as the state’s next Chief Minister and marking the moment Bihar’s longest political transition in recent memory moves from speculation to certainty.
The BJP legislature party leader election took place in the presence of Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, who was appointed as the central observer for the process. Choudhary’s election as legislature party leader is the formal step that precedes his invitation from Bihar Governor Syed Ata Hasnain to form the government and take oath as Chief Minister — a swearing-in ceremony that is expected to take place on Wednesday, April 15.
The election of Choudhary as legislature party leader closes the question that had remained technically open despite the overwhelming weight of reporting pointing in his direction. BJP insiders had admitted that the possibility of a surprise, at the instance of the party’s central leadership, as was recently seen in Rajasthan, Delhi and Madhya Pradesh, could not be ruled out. That surprise has not materialised — the frontrunner is confirmed.
What this means for Bihar
Choudhary’s elevation to Chief Minister will be historic in two distinct ways simultaneously. It will be the first time the BJP has held the Chief Minister’s office in Bihar — a state where the party has been a dominant coalition partner for most of the past two decades without ever leading the government itself. And it will place a leader from the Koeri OBC community at the top of Bihar’s administration — a signal about the BJP’s caste consolidation strategy in a state where non-Yadav OBC arithmetic has been central to NDA’s electoral dominance.
Choudhary is seen as a key OBC leader for the BJP in Bihar, where the party is seeking to expand beyond its traditional upper-caste base. His rise has been rapid since joining the BJP nearly seven years ago — from state party president to Deputy Chief Minister to now Chief Minister designate. Union Home Minister Amit Shah had earlier indicated he would be made a big man.
Nitish Kumar, who resigned as Chief Minister earlier today after holding the office for a cumulative period that makes him Bihar’s longest-serving Chief Minister, is now a Rajya Sabha MP. JDU leaders hope that despite stepping down as Chief Minister, Kumar will continue to pull some strings, with the new government to be formed with his consent and working under his guidance.
The era of Nitish Kumar as Bihar’s defining political figure is over. The era of BJP-led government in Bihar begins with Samrat Choudhary.
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