Samrat Choudhary to take oath as Bihar CM today as BJP takes charge after Nitish Kumar's exit
Samrat Choudhary is set to take oath as Bihar's Chief Minister on April 15 following Nitish Kumar’s resignation. Chosen as the BJP’s legislative party leader, he will become the party's first CM in the state.
In a major political development in Bihar, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Samrat Choudhary is set to take oath as the state's new Chief Minister at 11 am on Wednesday (April 15). This comes after he was elected as the BJP's legislative party leader following the resignation of Nitish Kumar as the Chief Minister. Chaudhary's elevation carries historic significance, as he will become the first Chief Minister from the BJP in Bihar. The party, which has been a key player in the state's coalition politics for years, is now set to lead the government independently.
Samrat Choudhary's name as the BJP legislative party leader in Bihar was proposed by Deputy Chief Minister Vijay Kumar Sinha and seconded by MLAs Renu Devi, Mangal Pandey and Dilip Jaiswal. The formal announcement was made by Shivraj Singh Chouhan who attended the NDA meeting as a central observer. Later in the day, 57-year-old Choudhary was also elected the leader of the NDA legislative party.
Nitish Kumar resigns as Bihar CM
Earlier, Nitish Kumar submitted his resignation from the post of the CM to Governor Syed Ata Hasnain. Kumar, the longest-serving CM of Bihar, made this announcement on X after he met the governor at Lok Bhavan in Patna. Accompanied by Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary, JD(U)'s national working president Sanjay Jha and state minister Vijay Choudhary, Kumar reached Lok Bhavan and submitted his resignation. "I have done a lot of work for the people of Bihar. Recently, I decided to leave the post of chief minister…and therefore, after today's cabinet meeting, I met the governor and submitted my resignation to him," Kumar added.
Who is Samrat Choudhary?
Born on November 16, 1968, in Bihar’s Munger district, Samrat Choudhary comes from a prominent political family. His father, Shakuni Choudhary, served as a six-time MLA from the Tarapur constituency, while his mother, Parvati Devi, held the same seat in 1998 representing the Samta Party. In the 2025 elections, Samrat reclaimed the family stronghold, continuing a remarkable streak in which the father, mother and son have together won the seat in nine out of the last twelve elections. He began his political journey in 1990.
Shifting political affiliations
Samrat Choudhary's early political innings were shaped under Lalu Prasad Yadav's Rashtriya Janata Dal. He later had associations with Nitish Kumar's JDU and was involved in a 2014 attempt to engineer a split by bringing over a dozen MLAs with him before eventually aligning with the BJP. His formative years in governance include serving as Agriculture Minister in the Rabri Devi cabinet in 1999.
Choudhary has showcased adaptability throughout his career, having served in key positions in the governments led by Jitan Ram Manjhi and Nitish Kumar. His shift to the BJP in 2018 marked a significant turn which allowed him to take on more assertive roles within the party. After joining the BJP, Samrat Choudhary quickly climbed the organisational ladder. He moved from the role of state unit Vice President to Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Council, and eventually became state president in 2023.