Newsmaker | Bihar BJP gets new president: Why Dilip Jaiswal was preferred over Samrat Choudhary

But the party’s decision to deny Chouhdary and appoint Jaiswal was likely prompted by what transpired in the Lok Sabha polls, according to some in the party. Over the last couple of years, Choudhary emerged as a key face in the Bihar BJP. He became the Leader of the Opposition in the Council in March 2023, the state president in November 2023, and Deputy CM in January. The BJP found in him an aggressive face who could stand up to Nitish Kumar — who is known for his flip-flops to the NDA and back — and the Janata Dal (United). The BJP was also looking at Choudhary to consolidate the votes of the “Luv-Kush”, a term for the OBC Kurmi and Kushwaha (Koeri) communities. The two caste groups constitute over 7% of Bihar’s population.

In the recent Lok Sabha polls, the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD)-led Mahagatbandhan gave tickets to seven Kushwaha candidates.

The NDA alliance counted on Choudhary to deliver on Kushwaha-dominated seats such as Buxar, Sasaram, Karakat, and Aurangabad. However, the alliance lost all of these seats. This created an impression that the Kushwaha votes were shifting towards RJD-led Mahagathbandhan.

Although Choudhary is expected to continue playing a key role in the state BJP, the party feels a grassroots organisation man such as Jaiswal will help it ahead of next year’s Assembly elections.

‘Quiet organisation man’

Jaiswal, who comes from the OBC Bania caste, has been with the BJP for over two decades, rising through the organisation’s ranks in Kishanganj district. He first became an MLC from Purnia-Araria-Kishanganj in 2009. He retained the seat in 2015 and 2021. A treasurer of the Bihar BJP unit since 2004, he became a minister for the first time this January.

Known for his proximity to former Deputy CM Sushil Kumar Modi, Jaiswal earned a reputation for being a “quiet organisation man” with a penchant for handling big party events in the Kishangang and Seemanchal belts.

“The party did not want to retain Choudhary. Any upper caste or Dalit leader was also in its scheme of things. It narrowed down to Jaiswal who could play a good organisation man and someone who could avoid confrontation with Nitish Kumar unlike his predecessors,” said a BJP leader.

Jaiswal is also the state in charge of Sikkim BJP and has also been the chairperson of the Bihar State Warehousing Corporation.