Soon after, Samrat Choudhary took oath as Bihar’s 21st CM, Nitish Kumar, who ruled Bihar for 20 years, took to his official X account (formerly Twitter) to convey his heartfelt congratulations.
BJP leader Samrat Choudhary took oath as the chief minister of Bihar on Wednesday, marking the first time the party-led a government in the state. The 57-year-old leader took oath at the Lok Bhawan in Patna, in the presence Nitish Kumar and other top leaders. Bihar Governor Syed Ata Hasnain administered the oath of office to Samrat Chaudhary at Lok Bhavan in Patna.
Nitish Kumar’s first reaction on Samrat Choudhary became Bihar’s new CM
Soon after, Samrat Choudhary took oath as Bihar’s 21st CM, Nitish Kumar, who ruled Bihar for 20 years, took to his official X account (formerly Twitter) and said, “Heartfelt congratulations and best wishes to Shri Samrat Choudhary ji on taking oath as the new Chief Minister of Bihar today. I am confident that under your leadership, Bihar will develop even more rapidly and join the ranks of the most developed states in the country.”
— Nitish Kumar (@NitishKumar) April 15, 2026
On Tuesday, Nitish Kumar, who is now a Rajya Sabha member, resigned as Chief Minister.
“Now the new government will look after the work in Bihar. The new government will have my full cooperation and guidance,” Kumar, Bihar’s longest serving Chief Minister, posted on X.
His elevation marks the end of an era dominated by Nitish Kumar’s “Sushasan (good governance)” and the beginning of a new chapter for the NDA in Bihar.
Who is Samrat Choudhary?
Born in 1968, Samrat Choudhary comes from a family deeply rooted in politics. His father, Shakuni Choudhary, was a six-time MLA from the Tarapur constituency. His mother, Parvati Devi, won the same seat in 1998 for the now-defunct Samta Party.
Before BJP and JD(U) renewed their alliance in 2024, Choudhary was the sharpest critic of Nitish Kumar. In 2022, he had publicly declared he would not remove his saffron turban (popularly known as muretha in Bihar) until Nitish Kumar was removed from power.
He was appointed as the BJP’s state president in 2023 and later became the Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar in 2024.
After NDA successfully defended its rule in the 2025 assembly election, speculations about Nitish Kumar’s move away from state politics grew stronger and stronger. Samrat Choudhary, with his strong hold within the OBC community, combined with his aggressive political style, was always in the fray to succeed the CM.
Samarat Choudhary’s turban row that made headlines
Choudhary’s rise carries a striking political backstory. Nearly three years ago, while serving as Bihar BJP president, he publicly pledged not to remove his traditional muretha (turban) until Nitish Kumar was ousted from the Chief Minister’s post.
The statement came during a heated exchange in the State Legislative Assembly, where Kumar questioned his attire. Choudhary responded by declaring it a symbol of his resolve to see Kumar removed from power. The gesture quickly became a talking point, reflecting the BJP’s aggressive stance at the time.
A Twist in the Timeline
However, the symbolic vow took an unexpected turn. When Nitish Kumar exited the Mahagathbandhan and rejoined the NDA in January 2024, Choudhary considered his pledge fulfilled and removed the turban—well before becoming Chief Minister himself.
Meanwhile, the BJP has chief ministers in Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, Haryana, Delhi – all major Hindi heartland states with Bihar as the notable exception. That officially changed today with the elevation of BJP’s Samrat Choudhary to the state’s top post.
