Beneath the euphoria, Bihar’s first BJP Chief Minister faces several significant challenges

Several challenges face senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader in Bihar and newly sworn-in Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary also known as Rakesh Kumar, who was till recently the Deputy Chief Minister in the previous Nitish Kumar government. Uniquely for the Hindi heartland, the BJP debuted in Bihar in 1980 but has never been in power on its own in the State. Mr. Choudhary, 57, is the saffron party’s first CM in 46 years in Bihar.

His party colleagues expressed delight in having their own CM at Mr. Choudhary’s swearing-in on Wednesday (April 15, 2026). “In the bade bhai, chote bhai (elder brother, younger brother) relationship, we are now bade bhai in the true sense,” BJP supporters were heard saying on the party headquarters here, referring to playing second fiddle to the the Janata Dal-United (JD-U) in the State, although sources said they had been told not to celebrate the occasion publicly.