Union Ministers Dharmendra Pradhan and Arjun Ram Meghwal with Samrat Choudhary (centre) and Vijay Kumar Sinha (R), who were chosen as leader and deputy leader, respectively, of the Bihar BJP legislature party, in Patna on Wednesday.
Credit: PTI Photo
Samrat Choudhary was on Wednesday named the Bihar BJP legislature party leader during a meeting of the newly elected MLAs of the party in Patna.
The newly elected MLAs also chose Vijay Kumar Sinha as the deputy leader of the BJP's legislature party, Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya, who was BJP central observer for the election of the leader of the legislature party, said.
Maurya, who was present in the meeting, said, “Samrat Choudhary and Vijay Kumar Sinha were elected as the leader and the deputy leader of the BJP’s legislature party, respectively."
The new government will be formed on Thursday. JD(U) supremo Nitish Kumar, who has been chosen as the leader of its legislature party, is set to take oath the Chief Minister for the 10th time on Thursday.
Choudhary and Sinha are expected to continue as Deputy Chief Ministers.
While Choudhary won from the Tarapur Assembly seat, Sinha retained the Lakhisarai constituency in the recently concluded Assembly polls.
"Samrat Choudhary aur Vijay Kumar Sinha ki jodi fit bhi hai aur hit bhi...This is a 'chauka' for BJP — Haryana, Maharashtra, Delhi aur ab Bihar, aage ke liye tayar," said Maurya after the meeting.
Chaudhary, Finance Minister in the outgoing government, is among the tallest BJP leaders of Bihar. Chaudhary's political career has been mired in controversies. He was originally in the RJD but switched over to the JD(U) before again crossing over the fence to the BJP for greener pastures. He has also served as Minister in multiple governments, including under Rabri Devi in 1999, Jitan Ram Manjhi in 2014 and presently as Nitish Kumar's deputy since January 2024.
Chaudhary, an OBC leader belonging to the Koeri community, was born in a political family. While his father, Shakuni Choudhary, a founding member of the Samata Party, won seven times as MLA and MP, his mother, Parvati Devi, was an MLA from Tarapur. Samrat himself has won two Assembly elections in 2000 and 2010; he lost twice in 2005 and 2015.
Sinha, who belongs to the Bhumihar community, was the Agriculture Minister in the outgoing government. He was the Speaker of the Bihar Legislative Assembly from November 2020 to August 2022 during the JD(U)-BJP government. Sinha resigned as the Speaker following a no-confidence motion against him by the then ruling Mahagathbandhan government.
Recently, on the first day of polling for the just-concluded Assembly elections, Sinha and RJD leader Ajay Kumar Singh were involved in a heated exchange after they accused each other of "booth capturing".
Earlier that day, in Sinha’s constituency of Lakhisarai , stones and slippers were reportedly thrown at his convoy and crowds raising 'murdabad' slogans blocked his vehicle.
Thanks Modi, Shah
On Wednesday, talking to reporters after he being elected deputy leader of the BJP legislature party, Sinha said, "I am grateful for the trust placed in me by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah and other top leadership of the party. We will work hard to fulfil the PM's pledge of 'sushahshan se samridhi' (progress through good governance)".