The BJP’s new Bihar unit chief Samrat Chaudhary on Thursday said that securing all 40 Lok Sabha seats of the state next year and ensuring an “absolute majority” for his party in the assembly polls of 2025 will be his top priorities.
Currently the Leader of the Opposition in the state legislative council, Chaudhary, who was a minister in the Nitish Kumar government till the JD(U) leader remained with NDA, also did not deny that by hedging its bets on him, the BJP has sought to make a dent in the “Luv-Kush” base of the Bihar chief minister.
The BJP cares for all. But, of course, where elsewould Luv Kush go except the place where Lord Rama abides”, Chaudhary replied, tongue in cheek, to questions from journalists about the “Kurmi-Koeri” combine, known by the name of the mythical twins in Bihar’s political lexicon.
The development is an indication of the challenges faced by the BJP in a state where it has become a force to reckon with but feels hamstrung by the “pro-upper caste label”, given Bihar’s history of being the hotbed of Mandal politics.
A Koeri by caste, 54-year-old Chaudhary belongs to an influential political family of Bihar. His father Shakuni Chaudhary has been an MLA several times and also served as the member of Khagaria Lok Sabha seat once besides being a founding member of the Samata Party, to which Nitish Kumar originally belonged.
Incidentally, Chaudhary had joined BJP barely six years ago, previously having been associated with both Lalu Prasad’s RJD and Nitish Kumar’s JD(U).
