Patna, April 09 Posters declaring Samrat Choudhary, the deputy CM of Bihar, as the person who would head the new government in the state, were put up outside the BJP office in Patna on Thursday as Chief Minister Nitish Kumar left for Delhi to be sworn in as a Rajya Sabha MP.
The posters, some of which were taken down by the party office staff, bore the label of 'Valmiki Samaj', a community of Dalits associated with scavenging work.
"We do not know who put up these posters. We can only say that the decision on who will be the next CM is one that needs to be made collectively, as has been the party's tradition," said BJP state media in-charge Danish Eqbal to reporters.
Speculation is rife that upon being sworn in as a Rajya Sabha MP on Friday, Kumar, who turned 75 last month, will hold the final meeting of his cabinet next week before stepping down as chief minister.
Choudhary, who is seen as the frontrunner in the race for the top job, has experienced a meteoric rise since he joined the BJP less than a decade ago.
Hailing from the Koeri caste, a prominent OBC group that both the BJP and the main opposition party RJD have been trying to woo, Choudhary was made the state party president in 2023 and became the Deputy CM a year later, when the NDA was back in power following the JD(U) supremo's return to the coalition.
When the NDA retained power in the assembly polls held last year, Choudhary returned as Deputy CM, this time with the crucial Home portfolio, which Kumar had so far been reluctant to relinquish.
According to sources in the BJP, which is currently the single largest party in the 243-member assembly, the new government will be formed after April 14, when the month-long inauspicious Hindu calendar period of 'Kharmaas' ends.
The sources said top leaders like Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah are likely to be present at a "grand ceremony" that will mark the formation of the "first ever BJP government in Bihar", the only Hindi heartland state where the party has been unable to gain control.
While Choudhary was undoubtedly seen as the "most preferred" candidate for the top job, a "surprise" could not be ruled out since the final decision would be made by the BJP's top leadership, known for adopting a "shock and awe" strategy.
Meanwhile, JD(U) national spokesperson Rajiv Ranjan Prasad was asked about reports that the BJP was likely to hold a meeting in Delhi to discuss the formation of the new government in Bihar.
Prasad told