With the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) regaining power in Bihar on Sunday, 28 January, after Janata Dal (United) leader and Chief Minister Nitish Kumar resigned and joined hands with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Samrat Chaudhary and Vijay Sinha took oath as the new deputy CMs.
On Sunday, hours before the swearing-in, Chaudhary was made the leader of the legislative party and Sinha was made the deputy leader of the legislative party in Bihar.
BJP leader and former deputy CM Tarkishore Prasad told PTI on Sunday, "Samrat Choudhary and Vijay Kumar Sinha have been elected as leader and deputy leader of the legislative party, respectively. Most certainly, they will be our face for the deputy CM position."
Here’s everything you need to know about them.
Who is Samrat Chaudhary? Born on 16 November 1968 in Munger’s Lakhanpur village, Samrat Chaudhary (54) entered active politics in 1990. His father Shakuni Chaudhary, one of the founders of the Samata Party, was a prominent Kushwaha leader in the state.
Chaudhary became the BJP’s state president in 2023, replacing Sanjay Jaiswal. Prior to this post, Chaudhary served as the leader of opposition in the Bihar Legislative Council.
Political Background: Chaudhary first joined politics as a part of the Rashtriya Janata Dal. His father was closely associated with Lalu Yadav and had been an MLA and MP from Khagaria. His mother was an MLA from the Tarpur constituency seat.
In 1999, he became the Agriculture Minister in the Rabri Devi government.
In 2000 and 2010, he was elected as an MLA from the Parbatta constituency.
In 2014, he became the Minister of Urban Development in Bihar.
It was only in 2018 that Chaudhary joined the BJP.
Thanking the BJP on Sunday, Chaudhary told the media, "BJP did a historic thing for my life. This is an emotional moment for me to have been elected as the Leader of the Legislative Party to be a part of the government. The mandate that we received in 2020 for the development of Bihar and to end the terror of Lalu Yadav - when the BJP received the proposal from Nitish Kumar to ensure that there is no 'jungle raj' in Bihar and Sanjay Jha came here as his ambassador, we decided to support it."
Who is Vijay Sinha? Born on 5 June 1967, Vijay Kumar Sinha (56) hails from Tilakpur in Lakhisarai. A three-time MLA from Lakhisarai and a civil engineer from a business family, Sinha is currently the leader of Opposition in the Bihar Assembly.
Political Background: Sinha is a Bhumihar leader and has an RSS background.
In 2000, Sinha served as the state organisation incharge of the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM).
In 2004, he joined the working committee of the BJP in Bihar.
In 2017, he was made the Labour Resources Minister.
From 2020-2022, Sinha was the speaker of the Bihar Assembly. He was the first BJP speaker in the state.
Sinha is said to have been groomed by former Bihar Deputy CM Sushil Kumar Modi.
Controversies: In 2021, Sinha became a target of criticism by the Opposition when he did not appropriately handle the “roughing up of an RJD and a Congress MLA on the Assembly premises after the House had passed the Special Armed Police Act,” The Indian Express reported.
After this, RJD MLAs had protested against the speaker and “laid siege to his chambers,” IE said on Sunday.
In 2022, a tiff occurred between Nitish Kumar and Sinha on the alleged violation of the alcohol prohibition law in Lakhisarai.
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