Behind BJP’s Deputy CM picks: OBC-upper caste faces, rewarding aggression, keeping Nitish Kumar in check

Joining hands with JD(U) leader Nitish Kumar to form a new NDA government in Bihar with Nitish as the Chief Minister, the BJP has chosen two of its senior leaders – state party president Samrat Choudhary and erstwhile Leader of Opposition Vijay Sinha – as the Deputy CMs.

Evidently, the BJP has decided to go ahead with the same set of leadership with the same OBC and upper caste combination, with the Lok Sabha elections barely a couple of months away.

While Choudhary is a Kushwaha leader, Sinha belongs to the Bhumihar community.

The BJP Legislature Party has also elected Choudhary, an aggressive OBC face, as its leader, thus giving him primacy over Sinha, who will be the its deputy leader.

The NDA led by Nitish had also won the 2020 Assembly elections together following which the BJP had appointed OBC Vaishya leader Tarkishore Prasad and EBC Nonia leader Renu Devi as its Deputy CMs. They had continued in their posts until August 2022 when Nitish had crossed over to the Mahagathbandhan (grand alliance) led by Lalu Prasad-headed RJD.

Apparently dissatisfied by its previous OBC-EBC leadership experiment in the state, the BJP has decided this time not to disturb the Choudhary-Sinha duo, who had been at the forefront of launching attacks on Nitish when they were the Opposition leaders. While Choudhary had donned a turban with a vow of not removing it till Nitish is removed as the CM, Sinha had risen in the party ranks for taking on Nitish as the Assembly Speaker in the previous NDA government.

In their new roles as Nitish’s deputies, while both Choudhary and Sinha are expected to dial down their aggression, they might also have been put in such a pivotal position to breathe down the neck of the JD (U) chief if and when required.

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