Bihar Politics: Considered close to Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Rakesh Kumar alias Samrat Choudhary is a BJP MLC and the leader of the party in the Legislative Council. He was given charge of Bihar last year. The 55-year-old, who hails from a political family, joined BJP in 2018 after breaking ties with JDU. His father, Shakuni Chaudhary, was a renowned socialist leader, an MP and also a minister.   Before that, he was with RJD till 2014.

Choudhary is known for his famous remarks when he said on repeated occasions that he will continue wearing his 'pagdi' till the time he doesn't oust the RJD government. On Saturday, when he was asked by reporters if he will end up removing his pagdi, Choudhary said that he will give an answer when the time comes. As BJP tries to move away from the pro-upper caste image, Choudhary's elevation within party ranks has generated a mass appeal to his OBC voter base in the state, that has also worked in the party's favour.

Samrat was a minister in the government headed by Rabri Devi, the RJD supremo's wife, and remained with the party for quite a while after it was ousted from power in 2005.

In 2014, he became part of a rebel faction and joined the JD(U) government headed by Jitan Ram Manjhi, who had taken over after Kumar had stepped down.

Three years later, he grew disenchanted with the JD(U) and joined the BJP, which recognised his potential, both as a fiery speaker and as a leader belonging to the prominent Koeri caste.

Choudhary was made a vice-president of the state unit and was later rewarded with a berth in the legislative council. He became a minister in Kumar's government after the NDA won the 2020 assembly polls.

Choudhary was named the state BJP president in March last year, when he succeeded Lok Sabha MP Sanjay Jaiswal, drawing Rabri Devi's snide remark "baniya se dil bhar gaya to Mahto ko bana diya".

Known to be a vocal critic of Nitish Kumar, Choudhary had started wearing a turban after the JD(U) supremo dumped the BJP last year, vowing to take it off only after his party returns to power.

He now faces the challenging task of making peace with his former bete noire and ensuring that the 'Luv Kush' combine, a colloquialism for Kurmis (Kumar's caste) and Koeris in Bihar, remains strong and boosts the BJP-led coalition's prospects in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls and beyond.

JD(U) president Kumar resigned as the chief minister of Bihar, saying "things were not working well" for him in the Mahagathbandhan and the opposition bloc INDIA, and staked claim to form a new government with the BJP, which he had dumped less than 18 months ago.

Choudhary and Vijay Kumar Sinha, who was elected the deputy of the BJP legislature party, are likely to be Kumar's deputy in the new government.

(With Inputs From PTI)