'Will Follow Modi And Nitish's Path': Samrat Choudhary Sworn In As Bihar's First-Ever BJP Chief Minister

Patna: Samrat Choudhary, Nitish Kumar’s deputy in the previous regime, on Wednesday took oath as Bihar’s 24th CM, becoming the first BJP leader to hold the top post in the state. Senior JD(U) leaders Vijay Kumar Chaudhary and Bijendra Prasad Yadav were sworn in as ministers and designated deputy CMs.

Chaudhary took oath after Samrat, followed by Yadav. After taking oath, Samrat said his government would advance the development model of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his predecessor Nitish Kumar. “My government will follow the path laid out by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and former Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.

Bihar will continue to be governed on the Modi-Nitish model,” he said. “I begin my work today itself. I assure the people of Bihar that the pace of development will be further accelerated,” he added, stressing better Centre-state coordination to push development initiatives.

He said his priorities would include strengthening law and order, generating employment and expanding basic amenities. Earlier, Governor Lieutenant General (Retd) Syed Ata Hasnain administered the oath at a simple ceremony held at Lok Bhavan.

Samrat’s predecessor Nitish Kumar was present on the occasion, along with several senior leaders, including BJP national president Nitin Nabin, Union ministers J.P. Nadda, Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Jitan Ram Manjhi, Chirag Paswan and RLM leader Upendra Kushwaha.

Nitish Kumar, now a Rajya Sabha MP, had resigned as chief minister on Tuesday. Samrat also held the crucial Home portfolio in the previous government. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Nitish Kumar and other senior leaders congratulated Samrat on assuming office.

Born on November 16, 1968, in Lakhanpur village in Munger district, Samrat began his political career with the RJD. In 2014, he engineered a split in the party, defecting with 13 MLAs to form a splinter group. He later joined JD(U) the same year and served as a minister in the government led by Jitan Ram Manjhi.

In 2015, he became a founding member of Manjhi’s Hindustani Awam Morcha. He joined the BJP in 2017. In March 2023, he was appointed Bihar BJP president, replacing Sanjay Jaiswal. In January 2024, he became the BJP legislative party leader and deputy chief minister.

When the NDA returned to power in 2025, he again took over as deputy chief minister and handled the Home portfolio. In his first meeting at the Secretariat hours after taking oath, Samrat directed officials to work at “double speed” to resolve public grievances and strictly enforce a zero-tolerance policy towards corruption.

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He stressed timely delivery of services at block offices, land offices and police stations, and called for coordinated functioning across departments to make Bihar a developed and prosperous state.