Samrat Choudhary becomes Bihar’s first BJP CM, ending Nitish Kumar era; major shift in state politics and OBC strategy. Photo: ANI.
Samrat Choudhary was sworn in as Bihar’s Chief Minister, becoming the first BJP leader to hold the post. The oath of office was administered by the Bihar Governor, Lieutenant General (Retd) Syed Ata Hasnain. The 57-year-old has big shoes to fill as he is set to succeed Nitish Kumar, who was sworn in as CM for a record 10th time in 2025 after the NDA registered a landmark victory in the assembly elections. His appointment is seen as a strategic move to strengthen the party’s outreach among OBC communities, particularly the Koeri/Kushwaha group. Vijay K Chaudhary and Bijendra Prasad Yadav took oath as the deputy chief ministers of Bihar.
The appointment of Samrat Choudhary as Bihar CM marks the end of an era dominated by Nitish Kumar’s “Sushasan” (good governance) and the beginning of a new chapter for the NDA in Bihar.
Choudhary’s rise to power is notable, given his humble beginnings in politics. He started his career in the 1990s with the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and later joined the BJP in 2018.
Born in 1968, Samrat Choudhary comes from a family deeply rooted in politics. His father, Shakuni Choudhary, was a six-time MLA from the Tarapur constituency. His mother, Parvati Devi, won the same seat in 1998 for the now-defunct Samta Party.
Samrat Choudhary entered politics in 1990. Like his father, his journey has crossed multiple party lines. He has been associated with Rashtriya Janata Dal and Janata Dal (United) before joining the BJP in 2017.
He was elected as Bihar’s Agriculture Minister in 1999 under Rabri Devi’s government. He proved his mettle on the ground when he won the Parbatta Assembly seat in 2000 and reclaimed it again in 2005.
In 2014, Samrat Choudhary made a major political move by splitting from the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and aligning with the Janata Dal (United). He was appointed as Minister of Urban Development and Housing Department under the Jitan Ram Manjhi-led government.
However, Nitish Kumar’s return as CM saw Choudhary lose his ministerial berth.
In 2017, he joined the BJP, and a year later, he was elevated to state vice president, given his powerful hold on the Koeri community vote share.
His rise in the BJP has been rapid. He became Panchayati Raj Minister in 2021, emerging as a leader with strong grass root leader and a strategist. However, his tenure was short as Nitish Kumar broke the alliance with the BJP to side with the RJD.
Before BJP and JD(U) renewed their alliance in 2024, Choudhary was the sharpest critic of Nitish Kumar. In 2022, he had publicly declared he would not remove his saffron turban (popularly known as muretha in Bihar) until Nitish Kumar was removed from power.
He publicly declared he would not remove his saffron turban (muretha) until Nitish Kumar was removed from the Chief Minister’s chair.
While the two leaders eventually reconciled to ally in 2024, Choudhary’s elevation to the top post today serves as the symbolic fulfilment of that mission, albeit through a peaceful transition of power within the NDA.
He was appointed as the BJP’s state president in 2023 and later became the Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar in 2024.
After NDA successfully defended its rule in the 2025 assembly election, speculations about Nitish Kumar’s move away from state politics grew stronger and stronger. Samrat Choudhary, with his strong hold within the OBC community, combined with his aggressive political style, was always in the fray to succeed the CM.
Today, all of his efforts have turned fruitful as the BJP elected him as the Leader of the Legislative Party in Bihar, paving the way for his elevation as the state Chief Minister.
Nitish Kumar extended his “full cooperation and guidance” to the new government, expressing confidence that a “lot of very good work will be done.”
“We have done a lot of work for the people of Bihar. For so many days, we have continuously served the people. We had decided that we would now leave the post of Chief Minister, and therefore, after today’s cabinet meeting, we met the Honourable Governor and submitted our resignation to him. Now the new government will look after the work here. The new government will have my full cooperation and guidance. Even ahead, a lot of very good work will be done, and Bihar will advance a great deal,” he wrote in the post.
Samrat Choudhary expressed his deep gratitude to the party’s central leadership and described his new role as a “sacred opportunity” to serve the people of the state.
He also lauded the role of Nitish Kumar, saying he has taught a lot of things and that the Viksit Bharat vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and that of prosperous Bihar by Nitish Kumar will make the state prosperous.
Zubair Amin is a Senior Journalist at NewsX with over seven years of experience in reporting and editorial work. He has written for leading national and international publications, including Foreign Policy Magazine, Al Jazeera, The Economic Times, The Indian Express, The Wire, Article 14, Mongabay, News9, among others. His primary focus is on international affairs, with a strong interest in US politics and policy. He also writes on West Asia, Indian polity, and constitutional issues. Zubair tweets at zubaiyr.amin
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