When Bihar CM-elect Samrat Choudhary vowed to drive out Nitish Kumar as chief minister

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Samrat Chaudhary, who had once vowed to wear a 'muretha' (turban) until Nitish Kumar is "dethroned" as Chief Minister of Bihar, will now replace the longest-serving CM in the state.

On Tuesday, April 14, Chaudhary was elected as the leader of the BJP Legislative Party in Bihar, paving the way for him to take the CM chair. The development soon came after Nitish Kumar resigned from the post on Tuesday.

Kumar stepped down as the Chief Minister of Bihar and submitted his resignation to the Governor on Tuesday. He will now be seen in the Rajya Sabha and not the Bihar assembly.

In the wake of this significant political transition in Bihar, many recalled Samrat Chaudhary's 2022 vow to dethrone Nitish Kumar from the CM post.

He then vowed to take it off only after "dethroning" Nitish Kumar.

But, Samrat removed the turban just after 22 months after taking this vow.

Choudhary finally removed ‘muretha’ on July 3, 2024. He took a holy dip in the Saryu River at Ayodhya Dham and devoted ‘Muretha’ to Lord Ram.

This was when Nitish Kumar rejoined the NDA bloc in January 2024. This was his fifth crossover in the past 10 years.

When asked what changed his mind, Samrat Choudhary said his resolution was fulfilled in January after Nitish Kumar resigned as the chief minister of the RJD-JD(U)-Congress grouping and joined the BJP-led NDA to become CM.

"I had vowed to not remove my turban until Bihar CM Nitish Kumar is removed from his post...On 28th January, Nitish Kumar, after breaking up with the INDIA alliance, joined us. He resigned as the CM of the Mahagathbandhan government," Samrat Choudhary had said then.

"On that day, I said that I would dedicate my turban to Lord Ram in Ayodhya. I will do as I said...I also thank the public of Bihar who voted overwhelmingly in favour of the NDA alliance...," Samrat Choudhary said.

He is now set to replace Nitish Kumar as the Chief Minister of Bihar. The date and time of his oath are yet to be announced. All eyes are now on the new Bihar Cabinet, even as many wonder if Nitish Kumar's son Nishant would be a given a ministerial berth this time.