Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Chaudhary is about to take over from CM Nitish Kumar after he was elected because the chief of the Bharatiya Janata Occasion Legislative Occasion on Tuesday. He would be the first BJP chief to be elevated to the submit of CM.
Chaudhary’s elevation comes months after he was assigned the house portfolio following the NDA’s landslide victory in final yr’s Bihar meeting elections, and indicators a serious shift within the dynamics of the ruling coalition. That is the primary time that the Bharatiya Janata Occasion has taken management of a key ministry after Nitish parted methods with the Bharatiya Janata Occasion after 20 years.
Two days after being elected chief of the BJP Legislative Occasion, Chaudhary was sworn in as dwelling minister, overseeing police, legislation enforcement and inner safety. The switch of this vital ministry to the Bharatiya Janata Occasion not solely mirrored the brand new energy relations within the NDA formulation, but additionally signaled the emergence of Mr. Chaudhary because the face of the Bharatiya Janata Occasion.
Chaudhary, who hails from Lakhanpur village close to Tarapur in Munger district, entered politics in 1990 as a member of Lalu Prasad’s RJD.
His father Shakuni Chaudhary was a outstanding regional politician who represented the Tarapur meeting constituency many instances, first as an unbiased, later as a Congress, Samata Occasion and eventually RJD candidate.
Samrat Chaudhary was first appointed as agriculture minister within the RJD authorities led by Loveli Devi in 1999, though he was not an MLA or MLC on the time. His appointment quickly grew to become embroiled in controversy over his age, and he was compelled to resign.
His political rise has been overshadowed by the 1995 Tarapur incident wherein Congress candidate Satchidanand Singh and his associates had been killed in a grenade assault through the meeting elections.
The costs in opposition to Chaudhary and his father had been dropped resulting from lack of proof, however the controversy resurfaced through the latest Meeting polls when Jan Suraaj founder Prashant Kishore accused Chaudhary of mendacity about his age to be declared a minor to get bail. Mr. Kishore pointed to inconsistencies in Mr. Chaudhary’s affidavit and claimed that he lied about his age to keep away from severe legal expenses.
Nevertheless, Chaudhary clarified that he was by no means formally charged within the Tarapur incident and the courtroom didn’t settle for the minor’s grievance. He additionally denied allegations relating to Kishore’s academic background, claiming that he accomplished a “Elementary Basis Course” from Kamaraj College and was awarded an honorary doctorate in 2019.
After resigning as minister in 1999, Chaudhary gained the Parbata meeting seat in 2000 as an RJD candidate. His political standing inside the RJD rose steadily and by 2010 he grew to become the celebration’s chief chief within the Congress.
Nevertheless, in 2014, Chaudhary took the dramatic step of defecting to the JD(U) after falling out with Lalu Prasad. He additionally “organized” a crossover of 13 RJD MLAs with the JD(U), cementing his popularity as a shrewd politician. In 2014, throughout Jitan Ram Manjhi’s transient tenure as CM, Chaudhary was appointed because the Minister of City Growth and Housing.
He joined the Bharatiya Janata Occasion in 2017 and shortly grew to become the state vp. His rise inside the BJP was speedy.
Chaudhary’s speedy rise displays the BJP’s strategic deal with consolidating the OBC vote financial institution, with Chaudhary representing the Koeri neighborhood, a robust voting bloc in Bihar aligned with Nitish Kumar.
In 2020, Chaudhary was elected for a second time period as MLC. His appointment as Chief of Opposition within the Bihar Legislative Council in 2022 additional cemented his place as a key chief of the BJP. In 2023, he succeeded Sanjay Jaiswal because the Bihar celebration president.
When Nitish left Mahagathbandhan and returned to the NDA fold in January 2024, Chaudhary grew to become deputy CM. He was subsequently given a number of portfolios, together with the finance ministry, demonstrating the Bharatiya Janata Occasion’s confidence in his administrative talents. His elevation to the function of deputy CM alongside together with his celebration’s Vijay Sinha was seen as an effort to stability energy inside the NDA and counter Nitish’s affect amongst OBCs.
Within the 2025 meeting elections, Chaudhary gained a decisive victory from Tarapur by over 45,000 votes over RJD candidate Arun Kumar, who narrowly misplaced within the 2021 by-polls.
The BJP’s resolution to place Chaudhary on the helm of Bihar’s police and legislation enforcement businesses not solely grooms the celebration for a much bigger function sooner or later, but additionally indicators a willingness to stake higher stakes in governing the state.
Chaudhary’s potential to navigate varied constituencies, his political acumen and administrative abilities have made him an vital chief of the Bharatiya Janata Occasion in Bihar. His elevation additionally offers the BJP a chance to strengthen its OBC base.
