Samrat Choudhary Elected Bihar BJP Leader, Marking Historic Power Shift

Speaking to reporters, Chouhan described the ceremony as an "emotional and historic moment".

"Workers who have helped build the organisation of the BJP since the Jana Sangh days are seeing their dreams being realised today. Their resolve completes today...I congratulate Samrat Choudhary," he said.

On the development, Ram Chandra Sing, who is a relative of the newly elected Bihar BJP Legislative Party leader, hailed the moment as a "wave of heartfelt joy" and recalled Choudhary's political breakthrough in 2000 as an MLA.

"In the year 2000, he was elected as an MLA from this constituency for the first time, marking the first instance since independence that we received the representative we truly desired. We had never before had an MLA quite like him," he said.

Samrat Choudhary will be the first Chief Minister of BJP in Bihar.

This development comes after the longest-serving CM of Bihar, Nitish Kumar, who has been Chief Minister for the past 21 years, tendered his resignation to Governor Lt Gen Syed Ata Hasnain (Retd) at Lok Bhavan in Patna. He took oath as a Member of the Rajya Sabha on April 10.

BJP MP Rajiv Pratap Rudy said, "He has given his resignation. A good chapter is beginning in the history of Bihar. Handing over of power by Nitish Kumar shows his greatness. He is a statesman. He has opened the way for change, and this will be recorded in history."

Kumar's ways of manoeuvring alliance politics have been crucial for the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) being in power in Bihar.

The move to the Rajya Sabha marks the fulfilment of Kumar's long-stated desire to serve in every legislative house in India (Bihar Assembly, Bihar Council, Lok Sabha, and finally, Rajya Sabha).

This transition effectively hands the reins of the Bihar government over to the BJP, marking a significant structural shift in the state's power dynamics ahead of future elections.

Rashtriya Lok Morcha national president Upendra Kushwaha congratulated Choudhary for the new position.

"Heartiest congratulations and best wishes to Shri Samrat Choudhary ji for the new responsibility," he said on X.

The outgoing Chief Minister of Bihar, Nitish Kumar, earlier today chaired the State Cabinet meeting at the Old Secretariat.

Before the Cabinet meeting, the outgoing chief minister also paid floral tributes to Bharat Ratna Dr BR Ambedkar on his 135th birth anniversary.

Furthermore, Janta Dal (United) National Working President and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Kumar Jha lauded the political journey of Bihar under outgoing Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, calling it an "emotional moment" for the people of the state.

He asserted that the present government and future administrations will continue to function under Nitish Kumar's guidance.

Speaking to reporters on the political developments in the state, Jha said the transformation of the state under Nitish Kumar had restored pride among its people.

"This is an emotional moment for the 140 million people of Bihar. We always say that we felt ashamed to say we are Bihari before Nitish ji's arrival, and after his arrival, Bihar's respect and prestige remained intact," he said.

- ANI