In 2022, Samrat Choudhary of the Bharatiya Janata Party started sporting a saffron turban after Nitish Kumar dumped the National Democratic Alliance and again joined hands with the Rashtriya Janata Dal of the Lalu Prasad Yadav-Tejashwi Yadav and Congress vowing that he would take it off only after “dethroning” the Janata Dal (United) president.
Call it an irony or the BJP’s game plan, on Sunday, January 28, Samrat Choudhary, a Koeri, and Vijay Sinha, a Bhumihar, took oath as deputy chief ministers of the new Bihar government led by chief minister Nitish Kumar.
In November 2020, Nitish Kumar expressed dissatisfaction with the BJP selection of Tarkishore Prasad and Renu Devi as the two deputy chief ministers in the NDA coalition. The BJP’s decision to overlook Nitish Kumar’s preference for Sushil Kumar Modi, who had served as his deputy three times, was apparent in their choices.
The elevations of Samrat Choudhary and Vijay Kumar Sinha indicate the BJP’s departure from prioritising sensitivity in their relationship with the JD(U). The assertive move suggests the BJP’s reluctance to play a subordinate role in the coalition, reflecting a change in dynamics.
Samrat Choudhary had also accused Nitish of “plundering” the state for the last 18 years and had called him a “tired CM”.
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“Nitish Kumar has been plundering the state for the past 18 years. Previously, the RJD too had looted the state for 15 years,” Samrat Choudhary had said at a function in Patna in May last year.
He had also accused Nitish Kumar of being in power either with the support of RJD or BJP, and “having no votes of his own”. “Nitish Kumar has become irrelevant in Bihar politics. He has no votes,” Samrat Choudhary had said.
On Sunday, Samrat Choudhary appeared to strike a reconciliatory note and said, “We will work for the development of the state and win 40 seats.”
Like Samrat Choudhary, Vijay Kumar Sinha, 64, has also been a vocal critic of Nitish Kumar.
Vijay Kumar Sinha, who held the position of speaker until 2022 when Nitish Kumar formed a coalition with the RJD and Congress, was involved in numerous wars of words with the chief minister.
The appointments also meant that the BJP, despite Nitish Kumar’s numerical superiority as the CM, is not willing to be dominated by its partner as it did in the three previous JD(U) coalitions from 2005 to 2010, 2010 to 2013, and 2017 to 2020.
On the other hand, the JD(U), once the senior partner in Bihar’s NDA, faced a decline, trailing behind junior ally BJP during previous tenures. Nitish Kumar grew discontented with the BJP, blaming them for the drastic drop in his party’s assembly seats from 71 in 2015 to 43 in 2020, while the BJP’s count rose from 53 to 74, second only to RJD’s 75.
Nitish Kumar reportedly blamed the BJP for influencing Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) leader Chirag Paswan to field candidates in nearly all constituencies where JD(U) was contesting.
In 2020, by selecting Vijay Sinha, an upper-caste Bhumihar, as the assembly Speaker, the BJP dismissed the idea that Nitish Kumar would be more comfortable with figures like Nandkishore Yadav, who had served as a minister under him.
The selection of Samrat Choudhary and Vijay Sinha seems to aim at appeasing OBCs while maintaining the support of the core upper caste base.
Among those sworn in as members of Nitish Kumar’s council of ministers, apart from the two deputy CMs, are BJP’s Prem Kumar, JD(U) leaders Vijay Kumar Chaudhary, Vijendra Yadav and Shravan Kumar, Hindustan Awam Morcha leader Santosh Kumar Suman, and Independent MLA Sumit Kumar Singh.
Notably, Nitish Kumar, Samrat Choudhary, and Santosh Kumar Suman are Members of the Legislative Council (MLCs).
Political observers note that NDA leaders carefully balanced caste considerations in the cabinet formation. Nitish Kumar told reporters that the cabinet will be expanded in a day or two and other factors will be kept in mind.
Insiders said whenever the expansion takes place, it will accommodate legislators belonging to other castes, minorities group and women.
A recent caste survey in Bihar indicated that Kurmis constitute 2.8 per cent of the total population.
A senior JD(U) leader, speaking anonymously, told news agency PTI that the NDA wanted to include diverse social groups in the cabinet, citing examples like Prem Kumar from the Kahar caste and Vijendra Yadav from the Yadav community. Santosh Kumar Suman of HAM represents the Mahadalit community.
With the provision allowing a maximum of 35 ministers in the cabinet, the current swearing-in ceremony saw only eight ministers taking office.
