When Nitish Kumar, Bihar’s Chief Minister for over two decades, took oath as a member of the Rajya Sabha in Delhi on April 10, speculation intensified over his successor.

Among the contenders, Samrat Choudhary, 57, Deputy Chief Minister and former State BJP president, has emerged as the frontrunner. However, party leaders say a final decision will be made only after Mr. Kumar resigns, likely on April 14. A new government is expected to be formed the following day, April 15. Mr. Choudhary currently holds the key Home portfolio and has been closely shadowing BJP leaders as well as Mr. Kumar at official engagements across the State.

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Like his father, Shakuni Choudhary, a former Army man-turned-politician, Samrat Choudhary has switched several parties in the past, including the Rashtriya Janata Dal and Janata Dal (United), before joining the BJP in 2017. Since then, his rise within the party ranks has been swift. He served as Deputy Chief Minister alongside Vijay Kumar Sinha in the previous Bihar government and retained the post in the new administration formed in 2025 after winning the Tarapur seat in Munger district.

In 2023, Mr. Choudhary was appointed the BJP’s Bihar unit president and has since emerged as a key voice in the State’s coalition-driven politics. He is widely seen as a prominent OBC face from the Koeri–Kushwaha community within the party, a group that accounts for roughly 6–7% of Bihar’s population.

After joining the BJP in 2017, Mr. Choudhary emerged as one of the sharpest critics of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. In 2022, he publicly vowed not to remove his trademark saffron turban until he unseated Mr. Kumar. However, when the BJP reunited with the JD(U) in January 2024 to return to power under the NDA, and Mr. Choudhary became Deputy Chief Minister, he visited Ayodhya on July 3, 2024. There, he removed his turban, dedicated it to Lord Rama, shaved his head and took a dip in the Saryu river. During the 2025 Assembly election, the BJP’s central leadership consistently kept Mr. Choudhary at the forefront of its campaign, positioning him ahead of other State leaders. Recently, he was deployed to campaign in West Bengal, where his appearances alongside senior leaders — including the Chief Minister of Haryana and the Deputy Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh — fuelled speculation that he could be the party’s leading choice for the top post in Bihar.

Larger role

During his recently concluded Samriddhi Yatra across the State, Nitish Kumar appeared to signal that Mr. Choudhary could take on a larger role going forward. On April 10, when Mr. Kumar took oath as a Rajya Sabha member in Delhi, Mr. Choudhary accompanied him along with other leaders. Meanwhile, in Patna, a poster at the party headquarters projected Mr. Choudhary as the next Chief Minister. It was later removed by party workers and leaders.

Mr. Choudhary entered active politics in 1990 and, the same year, was sworn in as Agriculture Minister in the Rabri Devi government led by the RJD. He won Assembly elections from Parbatta in 2000 and 2010 as an RJD candidate, and in 2010 served as the Opposition’s chief whip in the State Assembly. In 2014, he joined the JD(U) and became Minister for Housing and Urban Development in the government led by Jitan Ram Manjhi. He moved to the BJP in 2017.

Mr. Choudhary has also courted controversy at various points in his political career. Prashant Kishor, founder of the Jan Suraaj Party, has alleged that Mr. Choudhary was named in a murder case and had misrepresented his age. He has also drawn attention for a mispronunciation of the word “affidavit” as “halfidavit”.

Some within political circles remain sceptical about his elevation, arguing that he does not come from the BJP’s traditional organisational base. Ultimately, the decision will hinge on alliance dynamics, caste equations and the BJP’s long-term strategy in Bihar. While other BJP leaders such as SC & ST Welfare Minister Lakhendra Kumar Raushan are also being discussed for the top post, Mr. Choudhary continues to be seen as the frontrunner.