- By Raju Kumar
- Wed, 15 Apr 2026 04:29 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
BJP Bihar CM: A few days ago, no one would have imagined that Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) would be able to make its chief minister in Bihar at least so long as the Janata Dal-United chief and the longest-serving CM of Bihar, Nitish Kumar, is active in politics. Since Narendra Modi (Prime Minister) and Amit Shah (Home Minister) entered national politics in 2014, many unusual incidents have taken place in the polity, especially in Bihar. From the reunion of Nitish and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Lalu Prasad Yadav, to today's scenario, when the BJP scripted history by installing its first chief minister in the state.
Samrat Choudhary Takes Oath As Bihar CM
On Wednesday, Bihar got its first BJP-led government with Nitish resigning as chief minister and the ruling NDA backing Samrat Choudhary of the saffron party took his place. Choudhary, who was a deputy chief minister, was named the NDA legislative party leader in the presence of Nitish, now a Rajya Sabha member.
It is still a mystery and undigestible fact that Nitish decided to go to Delhi to play his last part in politics. Nitish was often called a 'Paltu Ram' by his critics due to his frequent switches to remain in power. People popularly used to say in Bihar that whoever wins, the chief minister would be Nitish, but the same leader happily passed the CM chair to Choudhary, a former archenemy, who once vowed to wear a turban until he succeeded in dislodging the JD-U leader from chief ministerialship.
These Factors Explain How BJP Rose In Bihar:
Number Game: In the last three elections, the BJP gradually improved its performance, riding on the 'Modi wave'. Bihar is among a few states where PM Modi's popularity has never seen a decline despite the presence of stalwarts like Lalu Prasad Yadav and Nitish Kumar and other satrap leaders in the state. 53, 74 and 89 were the scores in the 243-seat assembly in the last three elections, which explains its rise, despite not having a local face to counter Lalu's son Tejashwi Yadav.
Younger Brother To Big Brother: The JD-U had the upper hand in the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) due to the leadership of Nitish, who is credited with ending Lalu's political dominance in the state. Since Nitish has been the undisputed biggest face in the alliance, the BJP was always treated like a younger brother in the coalition, but as Nitish headed towards hanging up his boots in electoral politics, the saffron party silently worked to increase its footprints in the state, which is seen as a hard ground to play due to caste-based politics. The BJP had shown a big heart by offering the CM post to Nitish even after winning more seats (74) than JD-U (43) in the 2020 Assembly elections. This time, Nitish reciprocated and passed the CM post to its ally. Thus, the BJP has become a big brother in Bihar now.
Hindutva Politics: Despite being a partner of JD-U, which describes itself as a secular party, the BJP never changed its Hindutva card. BJP's ideological consistency over a blending of Hindutva and nationalism breached the caste-based politics, and people mobilised in favour of the saffron party.
Modi-Shah Leadership: The leadership of PM Modi and Amit Shah attracted youth voters in the state. The BJP gave its top post to a person from Bihar, Nitin Nabin, which also sent a positive message among people.
Welfare Schemes: The State and Centre both run several welfare schemes which improve the lives of people from the lower and middle classes. When it comes to the welfare of the poor, Nitish and PM Modi's plans complement each other; that is the reason Nitish agreed to the change of guard.
(With Agencies inputs)