Who is Samrat Choudhary, Prominent OBC Face And Nitish Kumar's New Deputy?

Bihar Politics: Considered close to Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Rakesh Kumar alias Samrat Choudhary is a BJP MLC and leer of party in Legislative Council. He was given charge of Bihar last year. 55-year-old, who hails from a political family, joined BJP in 2018 after breaking ties with JDU. His far, Shakuni Chaudhary, was a renowned socialist leer, an MP and also a minister.   Before that, he was with RJD till 2014.

Choudhary is known for his famous remarks when he said on repeated occasions that he will continue wearing his 'pagdi' till time he doesn't oust RJD government. On Saturday, when he was asked by reporters if he will end up removing his pagdi, Choudhary said that he will give an answer when time comes. As BJP tries to move away from pro-upper caste image, Choudhary's elevation within party ranks has generated a mass appeal to his OBC voter base in state, that has also worked in party's favour.

Samrat was a minister in government heed by Rabri Devi, RJD supremo's wife, and remained with party for quite a while after it was ousted from power in 2005.

In 2014, he became part of a rebel faction and joined JD(U) government heed by Jitan Ram Manjhi, who h taken over after Kumar h stepped down.

Three years later, he grew disenchanted with JD(U) and joined BJP, which recognised his potential, both as a fiery speaker and as a leer belonging to prominent Koeri caste.

Choudhary was me a vice-president of state unit and was later rewarded with a berth in legislative council. He became a minister in Kumar's government after NDA won 2020 assembly polls.

Choudhary was named state BJP president in March last year, when he succeeded Lok Sabha MP Sanjay Jaiswal, drawing Rabri Devi's snide remark "baniya se dil bhar gaya to Mahto ko bana diya".

Known to be a vocal critic of Nitish Kumar, Choudhary h started wearing a turban after JD(U) supremo dumped BJP last year, vowing to take it off only after his party returns to power.

He now faces challenging task of making peace with his former bete noire and ensuring that 'Luv Kush' combine, a colloquialism for Kurmis (Kumar's caste) and Koeris in Bihar, remains strong and boosts BJP-led coalition's prospects in upcoming Lok Sabha polls and beyond.

JD(U) president Kumar resigned as chief minister of Bihar, saying "things were not working well" for him in Mahagathbandhan and opposition bloc INDIA, and staked claim to form a new government with BJP, which he h dumped less than 18 months ago.

Choudhary and Vijay Kumar Sinha, who was elected deputy of BJP legislature party, are likely to be Kumar's deputy in new government.

(With Inputs From PTI)