2 months ago
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Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary, who is simply a apical imaginable among the BJP leaders vying to win Nitish Kumar arsenic Chief Minister of the State, is acceptable to conscionable Union Home Minister Amit Shah successful poll-bound West Bengal connected Sunday (March 8, 2026), according to enactment sources. The 2 leaders are apt to code a nationalist gathering unneurotic astatine Bagdogra, successful what is being seen arsenic an workout to boost Mr. Choudhary’s governmental persona.
On March 6, Mr. Kumar filed information papers for the upcoming Rajya Sabha election, acceptable to instrumentality spot connected March 16. His imminent departure from Patna triggered consternation adjacent successful the Opposition. Former Chief Minister and Rahtriya Janata Dal person Rabri Devi alleged connected Saturday (March 7, 2026) that “Nitish Kumar is being pushed retired of Bihar by the BJP…this is not a voluntary status of him,” adding that Mr. Kumar “should not permission Bihar”.
Within Mr. Kumar’s ain Janata Dal (United) arsenic well, changes are afoot. His lad Nishant Kumar, 50, who plans to formally articulation the JD(U) connected Sunday (March 8, 2026), met enactment legislators connected Saturday (March 7, 2026) astatine the Patna residence of moving enactment president Sanjay Kumar Jha. The inferior Mr. Kumar is said to person discussed enactment affairs and the crushed realities of authorities with them. JD(U) MLAs briefed him connected issues helium asked about, and welcomed him into the enactment to instrumentality it to caller governmental heights.
Autumn of a socialist: On Nitish Kumar, the BJP and Bihar politics
Nitish’s choice
While Nishant Kumar is apt to go 1 of the caller Deputy CMs of the State, existent Deputy CM Mr. Choudhary, 57, is said to beryllium Nitish Kumar’s prime for the CM post. Mr. Choudhary belongs to the Koeri, oregon Kushwaha, caste, a salient different backward people (OBC) assemblage successful Bihar. After the Yadavs, the Kushwahas signifier the 2nd largest voting bloc among OBC castes successful the State, and person adjacent ties with Nitish Kumar’s Kurmi community.
Mr. Choudhary is acceptable to conscionable Mr. Shah successful Bagdogra, which lies successful West Bengal’s Darjeeling territory which borders Bihar’s Kishanganj district. The Bagdogra airdrome besides serves the borderline areas of some Bihar and West Bengal.
BJP contenders
There are respective different BJP leaders who are reportedly successful contention for the CM’s post. Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai is said to beryllium adjacent to Mr. Shah who has antecedently called him his friend. Mr. Rai hails from the ascendant OBC Yadav caste and is believed to beryllium capable to dent the Opposition RJD’s cardinal ballot bank.
Another contender is Digha MLA Sanjeev Chaurasia, whose begetter Ganga Prasad Chaurasia was 1 of the founders of the BJP successful Bihar and a erstwhile Governor of Sikkim.
Other names doing the rounds successful governmental circles see Janak Ram, Bihar Minister for SC/ST Welfare who belongs to an highly backward people (EBC), Dalit assemblage successful Gopalganj; Bihar Industries Minister Dilip Jaiswal, a erstwhile State BJP president who belongs to the Vaishya assemblage and hails from the borderline territory of Kishanganj; Parihar MLA Gayatri Devi, who is simply a Yadav; and precocious caste enactment leaders Nitish Mishra and Mangal Pandey.
