BJP leader Samrat Choudhary is set to become the next Chief Minister of Bihar after being unanimously elected as the leader of the NDA legislative party on Tuesday, paving the way for his becoming the first Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) CM of the state. He is scheduled to take the oath at 11 am on Wednesday (April 15).
The development comes after Nitish Kumar, who heads the Janata Dal United (JDU), resigned as Chief Minister following his move to the Rajya Sabha. With 89 MLAs in the 243-member Assembly, the BJP emerged as the single largest party, paving the way for Choudhary’s elevation.
Union Minister Nityanand Ra said,"Choudhary has been unanimously elected as Leader of the NDA Legislative party."
Earlier in the day, Choudhary was elected the leader of the BJP legislature party. Union minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, whom the BJP parliamentary board named central observer for the legislature party leader's election, told reporters, "Samrat Chaudhary was unanimously elected as the BJP's legislature party leader."
Who is Samrat Choudhary?
Samrat Choudhary is a BJP MLA from the Tarapur Assembly constituency in Munger district, part of the Jamui Lok Sabha segment. He secured a decisive victory in the November 2025 elections with 1,22,480 votes, defeating Arun Kumar of the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) by a margin of 45,843 votes.
Belonging to the influential Koeri caste, an OBC group, Choudhary plays a key role in the BJP's social strategy in Bihar. Despite not having a traditional RSS background, he is considered close to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Amit Shah.
Born on November 16, 1968, in Lakhanpur village of Munger, he comes from a strong political lineage. His father, Shakuni Choudhary, was a seven-time MLA and MP, while his mother, Parvati Devi, also served as an MLA.
Samrat Choudhary's political journey
Choudhary completed his early education in Munger and pursued higher studies at Madurai Kamaraj University, though his educational credentials have been a subject of public debate. He entered active politics early and spent 89 days in jail in 1995 during a political movement.
He began his political career in the 1990s under Lalu Prasad Yadav and became Agriculture Minister in the government led by Rabri Devi in 1999. He was first elected MLA in 2000 from Parbatta and returned to the Assembly in 2010, also serving as Chief Whip of the opposition in the Assembly.
In 2014, Choudhary broke away from the RJD and joined the government of Jitan Ram Manjhi as Urban Development Minister. He formally joined the BJP in 2017 and rose quickly, becoming state vice president in 2018.
He was elected to the Legislative Council in 2020 and became Leader of the Opposition in 2022. In March 2023, Chaudhary was appointed president of the BJP for the state of Bihar, replacing Sanjay Jaiswal.
Known for his aggressive political style, Choudhary took a symbolic vow not to remove his turban until Nitish Kumar was removed from the Chief Minister's post. He fulfilled this vow in July 2024 after a ritual dip in the Saryu River in Ayodhya. Chaudhary dedicated his turban to Lord Rama and announced that after Nitish Kumar joined the BJP-led coalition, once again ditching the alliance led by Rashtriya Janata Dal, his vow to make him resign from the office of Chief Minister was fulfilled.
He became Deputy Chief Minister in January 2024 and later retained the position when the NDA returned to power in November 2025, this time handling the crucial Home portfolio.
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