Nitish Kumar, the leader of Janata Dal-United (JDU), took the oath of office as the chief minister of Bihar for the ninth time on Sunday, signalling a radical change in alignments. The architect of the erstwhile Mahagathbandhan broke with the Congress and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) to create an alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). With the introduction of a reorganised team at the Raj Bhavan swearing-in event, which featured important figures like Samrat Choudhary and Vijay Kumar Sinha among others, Bihars political scene was primed for revival.#WATCH | Nitish Kumar takes oath as Bihar CM for the 9th time after he along with his party joined the BJP-led NDA bloc.#BiharPolitics pic.twitter.com/v9HPUQwhl3— ANI (@ANI) January 28, 2024Lets take a closer look at Nitish Kumars new teamSamrat ChoudharySamrat Choudhary, the recently nominated BJP state president and deputy chief minister, is at the centre of this change. Choudhary, a well-known personality in Bihar politics, famously promised to remove his turban only if his party wins power. The 54-year-old accepted the role of BJP chief in the state in March last year and has a political journey that weaves through multiple parties, including the RJD and the JDU. Choudhary previously was holding the position as Minister for Urban Development and Housing, Health, and Minister of Metrology and Horticulture.Vijay Kumar SinhaVijay Kumar Sinha, a member of the upper caste Bhumihar community, was involved in politics while pursuing his civil engineering degree at a polytechnic in Barauni. He was a member of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad, the student branch of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). When Sinha first appeared in the Bihar Assembly in 2010, it was when he was first introduced to electoral politics. He was named Minister of Labour Resources seven years later.The deputy ministers duo of Samrat Choudhary and Vijay Kumar Sinha seems to be a calculative consideration for BJP. Apart from these two, the six cabinet comprises leaders like Prem Kumar, Vijay Kumar Chaudhary, Vijendra Yadav, Santosh Kumar Suman, Shravan Kumar, and Independent MLA Sumit Kumar Singh also too oath on Sunday.JDUs Shravan Kumar belongs to the same as community as Nitish Kumar, which constitute 2.8% of the total population, according to the Bihar caste survey, which has been conducted recently.
