Samrat Choudhary takes oath as Bihar's first BJP CM; Vijay Chaudhary, Bijendra Yadav sworn in as Dy CMs

The swearing-in ceremony is being held at the  Lok Bhawan in Patna, in the presence of senior leaders of the NDA alliance, which includes the BJP, Nitish Kumar’s JD(U), and three other parties. 

BJP leader Samrat Choudhary takes oath of office and becomes the first Chief Minister from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to lead Bihar’s government.

Choudhary was elected as the leader of the BJP legislature party in the meeting held by senior party leaders on Tuesday.   Before becoming chief minister, the BJP leader served as the deputy chief minister and home minister in the Nitish Kumar-led cabinet.

Governor Syed Ata Hasnain administered the oath of office to Choudhary at the Lok Bhawan in Patna. JDU MLAs Vijay Kumar Chaudhary and Bijendra Prasad Yadav have also been sworn in as Bihar Cabinet ministers. They will take charge as deputy ministers.

The swearing-in ceremony is being held at the  Lok Bhawan in Patna, in the presence of senior leaders of the NDA alliance, which includes the BJP, Nitish Kumar’s JD(U), and three other parties.

 Although the BJP and Janata Dal (United) contested the state elections as part of the NDA alliance, the BJP emerged as the largest party following a decisive victory.

After his selection as legislative leader, Choudhary met Governor Syed Ata Hasnain to stake claim to form the new government in Bihar.

After being chosen as leader, Samrat Choudhary expressed gratitude to the party leadership in a post on X, calling the role a “sacred opportunity” to serve the people of Bihar.

“I express my heartfelt gratitude to the central leadership of the Bharatiya Janata Party for reposing their trust in me… This is not merely a position for me, but a sacred opportunity to serve the people of Bihar,” he said.

The 57-year-old was born on November 16, 1968, in Lakhanpur village in Munger. Choudhary, who joined the BJP in 2017, was elected as the leader of the legislative party on Tuesday in the presence of senior leaders, including BJP chief Nitin Nabin and Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, who was appointed by the party’s parliamentary board as the central observer for the transition.

Nitish Kumar, who is now a Rajya Sabha MP, resigned as Chief Minister on Tuesday and dissolved his cabinet, in which Choudhary served as Deputy Chief Minister and held the key Home portfolio.

Choudhary’s appointment is viewed as a strategic effort to expand the party’s support base among OBC communities, especially the Koeri/Kushwaha group.