Samrat Choudhary sworn in as Bihar Chief Minister
Nitish Kumar steps down, dissolves cabinet, takes Rajya Sabha role
Samrat Choudhary Takes Oath as Bihar’s First BJP Chief Minister in Historic Moment
On a breezy Wednesday in Patna, history quietly settled into the corridors of Lok Bhawan. Samrat Choudhary, the BJP’s chosen leader, was sworn in as chief minister of Bihar—the first from the saffron party to hold the post in the state. The moment carried more than constitutional formality; it marked the quiet closing of an era built around Nitish Kumar and the tentative opening of a new chapter for Bihar’s politics.
Governor Lt Gen Syed Ata Hasnain (retd) administered the oath of office and secrecy to Choudhary, and then to JD(U) leaders Vijay Kumar Choudhary and Bijendra Prasad Yadav as members of the Council of Ministers. The hall filled with the weight of expectation—NDA leaders from across the alliance sat together, their presence underscoring the coalition’s careful choreography. Union ministers J P Nadda and Chirag Paswan, former CM Nitish Kumar, and every NDA MLA had gathered to witness the transition, a silent reaffirmation of the alliance that now holds power in the 243‑member assembly.
Only a day earlier, Nitish Kumar, who had led the state for record‑breaking ten terms, had formally stepped down. After paying homage to B R Ambedkar and dissolving his cabinet, he signed the resignation that made room for what he called a “new phase” of governance. In that earlier cabinet, Choudhary had already been deputy chief minister, handling the crucial home portfolio—a role that gave him a front‑row seat to the state’s security and law‑and‑order landscape.
Choudhary, who joined the BJP in 2017, has steadily risen from being an organisational face to a figure entrusted with the top post. On Tuesday, in a meeting packed with senior allies at Patna’s NDA offices, the ruling alliance formally named him chief minister. The BJP’s own legislative party had chosen him the same day, with Union minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan—named central observer by the party’s parliamentary board—standing by as the process unfolded. Speaking to reporters, Chouhan said Samrat Choudhary had been “unanimously elected” as the BJP’s legislature party leader, a phrase that carried the promise of unity even as it masked the back‑room negotiations that preceded it.
Representing the Tarapur constituency in Samastipur district, Choudhary is seen as an OBC face expected to consolidate non‑Yadav backward votes while balancing the delicate caste equations that define Bihar’s politics. His image is a departure from the more measured, low‑key style of Nitish Kumar: he is publicly aggressive, unapologetic about the party’s agenda, and comfortable with the assertive tone that has come to characterise the BJP’s national discourse.
For many ordinary Biharis, the change is less about party colour and more about hope. Will jobs improve? Will roads, schools, and hospitals get better attention? The ceremony itself was relatively low‑key, yet the symbolism mattered. The BJP, now the single largest party in the assembly with 89 MLAs, has finally placed its stamp on the chief minister’s chair, even if it is through a coalition arrangement with the JD(U) and others.
Outside Lok Bhawan, crowds murmured about what this might mean for the state’s future. For some, Choudhary is a symbol of new energy; for others, a reminder of how much the centre’s politics now shapes life in the state. What remains undeniable is that Bihar’s political landscape has shifted, and the man now leading the state walks into office with the weight of history on his shoulders and the eyes of a restless electorate fixed on his every step.