Summary of this article
Samrat Choudhary to become Bihar’s first BJP Chief Minister, marking a major political shift in the state.
Nitish Kumar steps down and is expected to back Choudhary, ensuring continuity within the NDA.
BJP likely to take key ministries and institutional posts, signalling its growing dominance in Bihar’s coalition politics.
The swearing-in ceremony is expected to take place on 15 April at Lok Bhavan. Earlier on Tuesday, Nitish Kumar resigned from the post of Chief Minister of Bihar. He reached Raj Bhavan in the same vehicle along with Samrat Choudhary and Vijay Choudhary and submitted his resignation to the Governor.
Choudhary’s career has been shaped by key political shifts. After years in the RJD, he joined the Janata Dal (United) in 2014 and served as a minister in the government headed by Jitan Ram Manjhi. He joined the BJP in 2017.
BJP president Nitin Naveen met Nitish Kumar at the Chief Minister’s residence. Samrat Choudhary and several senior BJP leaders were also present during the meeting. Since morning, there had been a steady stream of JD(U) and BJP leaders visiting the Chief Minister’s residence to meet Nitish Kumar. As per the scheduled program, Nitish Kumar also attended what was expected to be the last meeting of his cabinet earlier in the day.
Preparations for celebrations have been made at the BJP office in Patna. During a meeting of the BJP legislature party that lasted several hours, central observer and Union minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan announced Samrat Choudhary’s name as the leader of the BJP legislature party. Following this, Nitish Kumar is expected to formally propose Samrat Choudhary’s name as leader of the NDA legislature party at the alliance meeting.
15 April is set to be an important day for the BJP in Bihar. For the first time, a BJP leader will take oath as Chief Minister of the state. According to reports, the Home Department and the post of Assembly Speaker are also likely to go to the BJP, while the Deputy Chief Minister’s post will go to the JD(U).
As per the proposed cabinet formula, both the BJP and JD(U) may get 15 ministerial positions each. Chirag Paswan’s LJP (R) is expected to get two ministerial positions, while Jitan Ram Manjhi’s HAM and Upendra Kushwaha’s RLM may get one ministerial position each. The Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister will take the oath on 15 April, while the swearing-in of other ministers may take place later.
