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

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.

“Samrat and Sinha cannot be malleable leaders. The idea is to run the government on equal terms while BJP will allow Nitish to keep his primacy as the CM,” said a BJP leader.

The BJP is the senior partner in the NDA, accounting for 78 MLAs in the 243-member Assembly, as compared to the JD(U)’s 45.

Another possible reason for picking Choudhary as the BJP’s leader is to counter Nitish by projecting a Kushwaha leader at the forefront. Nitish, who is known as a kay claimant to the OBC Kurmi-Koeri (Luv-Kush) vote bank, would be aware of the BJP’s bid to make the Luv-Kush base a part of its larger constituency with or without him.

One of the BJP’s reasons for elevating Choudhary is also to keep him “motivated” in state politics. “We have already invested in Samrat’s leadership. With Nitish back in NDA, it was important to give him a key role in government as well to send out a good message to our rank and file,”said another BJP leader.

At the same time, Sinha has been given the number two slot in the state BJP leadership with a view to reach out to the upper castes, the BJP’s core vote base, amidst the OBC-EBC driven state politics which has gained momentum in the wake of the release of Bihar’s caste survey report.