Samrat Choudhary, top prospect for Bihar’s next CM, to meet Amit Shah in West Bengal on March 8

Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary, who is a top prospect among the BJP leaders vying to succeed Nitish Kumar as Chief Minister of the State, is set to meet Union Home Minister Amit Shah in poll-bound West Bengal on Sunday (March 8, 2026), according to party sources. The two leaders are likely to address a public meeting together at Bagdogra, in what is being seen as an exercise to boost Mr. Choudhary’s political persona.

On March 6, Mr. Kumar filed nomination papers for the upcoming Rajya Sabha election, set to take place on March 16. His imminent departure from Patna triggered consternation even in the Opposition. Former Chief Minister and Rahtriya Janata Dal leader Rabri Devi alleged on Saturday (March 7, 2026) that “Nitish Kumar is being pushed out of Bihar by the BJP…this is not a voluntary retirement of him,” adding that Mr. Kumar “should not leave Bihar”.

Within Mr. Kumar’s own Janata Dal (United) as well, changes are afoot. His son Nishant Kumar, 50, who plans to formally join the JD(U) on Sunday (March 8, 2026), met party legislators on Saturday (March 7, 2026) at the Patna residence of working party president Sanjay Kumar Jha. The junior Mr. Kumar is said to have discussed party affairs and the ground realities of politics with them. JD(U) MLAs briefed him on issues he asked about, and welcomed him into the party to take it to new political heights.

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Nitish’s choice

While Nishant Kumar is likely to become one of the new Deputy CMs of the State, current Deputy CM Mr. Choudhary, 57, is said to be Nitish Kumar’s choice for the CM post. Mr. Choudhary belongs to the Koeri, or Kushwaha, caste, a prominent other backward class (OBC) community in Bihar. After the Yadavs, the Kushwahas form the second largest voting bloc among OBC castes in the State, and have close ties with Nitish Kumar’s Kurmi community.

Mr. Choudhary is set to meet Mr. Shah in Bagdogra, which lies in West Bengal’s Darjeeling district which borders Bihar’s Kishanganj district. The Bagdogra airport also serves the border areas of both Bihar and West Bengal.

BJP contenders

There are several other BJP leaders who are reportedly in contention for the CM’s post. Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai is said to be close to Mr. Shah who has previously called him his friend. Mr. Rai hails from the dominant OBC Yadav caste and is believed to be able to dent the Opposition RJD’s key vote bank.

Another contender is Digha MLA Sanjeev Chaurasia, whose father Ganga Prasad Chaurasia was one of the founders of the BJP in Bihar and a former Governor of Sikkim.

Other names doing the rounds in political circles include Janak Ram, Bihar Minister for SC/ST Welfare who belongs to an extremely backward class (EBC), Dalit community in Gopalganj; Bihar Industries Minister Dilip Jaiswal, a former State BJP president who belongs to the Vaishya community and hails from the border district of Kishanganj; Parihar MLA Gayatri Devi, who is a Yadav; and upper caste party leaders Nitish Mishra and Mangal Pandey.