Will Nitish not be Bihar CM? Amit Shah drops big hint

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday asserted that Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary, a former state Bharatiya Janata Party president, would be made 'big man' by Prime Minister Narendra Modi after the assembly polls.

IMAGE: Union Home Minister Amit Shah addresses an NDA election rally for the Bihar Assembly election, in Lakhisarai on Thursday. Photograph: v

Shah, who is a former national president of the party, made the remark at a rally in Tarapur assembly constituency of Munger district, where Choudhary is the BJP candidate.

"As Samrat Choudhary said in his speech, he was born here. We convinced the local Janata Dal-United MLA Rajeev Singh to give up his sitting seat in favour of Samrat Choudhary. Folks of Tarapur, people in other places request us to get a ministerial berth for their MLAs. Your MLA is a readymade Deputy CM," Shah said.

"Please vote for him and ensure his victory. In days to come, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is going to make him a big man, a very big man," added Shah, who is widely regarded as the BJP's principal strategist.

The remarks are likely to trigger fresh speculations about the National Democratic Alliance in poll-bound Bihar, where the Opposition has been claiming that the BJP has made up its mind to do away with Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, the JD-U supremo, and have its own nominee in the top seat of power.

Congress media and publicity in-charge Pawan Khera came out with a post on X, sharing a news clip of Shah's remark, and wrote, 'Only the Chief Minister is a bigger man than the Deputy CM. Nitish ji, hope you are listening.'

Notably, Bihar is the only Hindi heartland state in the country where the BJP has not been able to head the government so far.

Choudhary, who was formerly with the JD-U as well as the Rashtriya Janata Dal, the main opposition party, has had a meteoric rise since he joined the BJP less than a decade ago.

His rise to prominence has been seen as a part of the BJP's strategy to reach out to the Kushwaha community, the most populous among the OBCs after Yadavs, who are largely RJD supporters.

Choudhary is currently enjoying his second consecutive term as a member of the legislative council. He is contesting a direct election after a decade.