Samrat Choudhary sworn in as Bihar’s first BJP Chief Minister

Samrat Choudhary took oath as the Chief Minister of Bihar on 15 April 2026, becoming the first Chief Minister from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the state.

Bihar Governor Syed Ata Hasnain administered the oath of office and secrecy to him at Lok Bhavan in Patna. JD(U) leaders Vijay Kumar Choudhary and Bijendra Prasad Yadav also took oath as ministers and will serve as Deputy Chief Ministers.

Samrat Choudhary was elected leader of the BJP and NDA legislative parties on 14 April 2026.

This decision came after days of speculation and just one hour after Nitish Kumar officially resigned as Bihar’s longest-serving Chief Minister. He had recently become a Rajya Sabha member.

BJP Chief Ministers are already in power in states like Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, Haryana, and Delhi—making Bihar the last major Hindi-speaking state to come under BJP leadership.

Samrat Choudhary

57-year-old Choudhary, who served as Deputy Chief Minister under Nitish Kumar, belongs to the Koeri or Kushwaha caste. This is a prominent community within the Other Backward Classes (OBC), constituting about 6–7% of Bihar’s total population.

Among backward castes, the Kushwaha  caste is the second largest after the Yadavs. According to sources, Nitish Kumar’s party JD(U) had urged the BJP to appoint a Chief Minister from this caste group.

Born in 1968, Samrat Choudhary comes from a family with deep roots in politics. His father, Shakuni Choudhary, has been elected as an MLA six times from the Tarapur  Assembly constituency. His mother, Parvati Devi, won the same seat in 1998 on behalf of the now-defunct Samata Party.

Choudhary, who entered active politics in 1990, has changed parties several times—from Lalu Yadav’s RJD to Nitish Kumar’s JD(U), and eventually joined the BJP in 2017.

General Information about Bihar State

State Name – Bihar. It is believed that the name “Bihar” is derived from the large number of Buddhist monasteries (Viharas) in this region. Notably, this area was an important center of Buddhism in ancient times.

State Formation (Bihar Day) – 22 March, 1912

Capital – Patna (earlier known as Pataliputra, Pushpapura, Kusumpur, and Azimabad)

Neighboring States – 3 [West Bengal (East), Uttar Pradesh (West), Jharkhand (South)]

Neighboring Country – Nepal (North)

Total Geographical Area (in India) – 2.86%

Population Rank in India – 3rd (1st – Uttar Pradesh, 2nd – Maharashtra)

Decadal Population Growth (2001–2011) – 25.42% (6th in India)

Population Density (per sq. km) – 1,106 (1st in India)

Literacy Rate (Census 2011) – Approx. 61.80% (Male: 71.20%, Female: 51.50%)

Number of Districts – 38

Lok Sabha Seats – 40

Rajya Sabha Seats – 16

Reserved Lok Sabha Seats for SC – 6

Assembly Seats – 243

Legislative Council Seats – 75

State Emblem – Bodhi Tree (between two swastikas)

Official Language – Hindi

Second Official Language – Urdu

State Fish – Mangur

State Song – “Mere Bharat ke Kanthahar, Tujhko Shat-Shat Vandan Bihar...”

State Prayer – “Mere Raftaar Pe Suraj Ki Kirne Raaj Kare...”

Folk Dances – Kath Ghoda, Chhau, Launda, Dhobiya, Jat-Jatin, Jhijhiya, Jharni, Karma, Domkach

Bihar Assembly Election Results

Elections for 243 members of the Bihar Legislative Assembly were held on 6 and 11 November 2025. Vote counting was completed and results were declared on 14 November 2025.

The BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) achieved a massive victory, winning 202 out of 243 seats, defeating the RJD-led Mahagathbandhan (MGB), which secured only 35 seats.

Incumbent Chief Minister Nitish Kumar took oath for a record tenth time. Senior BJP leader Prem Kumar was unanimously elected Speaker of the Bihar Legislative Assembly on 2 December 2025.

Pro-tem Speaker Narendra Narayan Yadav informed the House that Prem Kumar was the only candidate for the post and was elected unanimously by voice vote during the first session of the 18th Assembly.