Patna: In one of the most consequential administrative shifts in nearly 20 years, Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar has relinquished control of the state’s Home Department — a portfolio he has held continuously since 2005 and one that shaped his image as “Sushashan Babu”. The powerful department, which oversees the police, CID, STF, Special Branch, Bihar Special Armed Forces, Government Railway Police, Economic Offences Unit, has now been handed to his deputy, Samrat Chaudhary.
Samrat, now in his second term as deputy chief minister, is one of the BJP’s most prominent faces in the state at present and has served as its Bihar unit president since 2023. His elevation to the Home Department gives him sweeping authority over policing and law and order at a moment when Bihar’s governance trajectory is under close public and political scrutiny.
A Controversial Choice for Bihar’s Most Crucial Portfolio
The decision also arrives amid political controversy. During the election campaign, Jan Suraaj founder Prashant Kishor revived allegations relating to a 1995 case in Munger’s Tarapur constituency — in which Samrat, then a young political aspirant, was named among several accused in the killing of seven people. Samrat has consistently denied wrongdoing and no conviction has ever been reported, but the matter resurfaced as a flashpoint during the bitter campaign.
Despite this, Samrat now assumes command of the very apparatus tasked with crime control across the state — a move seen by analysts as a clear demonstration of the BJP’s strengthened hand in the coalition.
From RJD Loyalist to BJP Power Centre
Samrat’s rise has been shaped by a long, cross-party journey. Born into an influential political family — his father, Shakuni Chaudhary, represented Tarapur six times since 1985, while his mother, Parvati Devi, also served as an MLA — he began his career with the RJD in 1999 and became a minister in the Rabri Devi government. He won from Parbatta in 2000 and retained the seat in 2010, later moving to the JD(U), then to the BJP in 2017.
Within the BJP, his ascent was rapid: state vice-president, MLC, state party president, and finally, in January 2024, deputy chief minister. His new role as the custodian of Bihar’s law-and-order machinery now places him at the centre of the state’s governance.
BJP’s Rising Strongman in Bihar
For Nitish Kumar — who has consistently managed internal coalitions by holding crucial departments close — the change represents a rare transfer of authority. For the BJP, it marks a consolidation of influence in a government where it already commands a majority of cabinet positions.
Whether this shift reshapes Bihar’s political landscape or governance outcomes remains to be seen, but the message is unmistakable: in the new NDA dispensation, power is being redistributed — and the BJP’s imprint is deeper than ever.
