Patna, March 18 Bihar Minister Vijay Kumar Chaudhary on Tuesday rejected suggestions that Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, who is expected to step down shortly to enter the Rajya Sabha, has designated his deputy, Samrat Choudhary, as his successor.
During his visit to the Jamui district earlier in the day, as part of the Samriddhi Yatra, Kumar pointed towards Samrat Choudhary, a senior BJP leader, and said: "He will be responsible for Bihar, and the state will make tremendous progress".
This led to speculation in the media that Kumar, who heads the JD(U), was signaling his desire for Choudhary to become the new Chief Minister.
However, when questioned, Vijay Kumar Chaudhary, a senior JD(U) leader, responded: "I was there. So, please do not make assumptions before me".
Although Chaudhary admitted that Samrat Choudhary has been sincerely working with the Chief Minister, who has a habit of encouraging his cabinet colleagues by saying that he or she will be handling things, this is not new.
"You people (journalists) are imagining that this is a new signal," he said.
Chaudhary was interacting with journalists at the Chief Minister's residence late in the evening after the last Iftar party hosted by the JD(U) President in his current capacity.
He said, "Our Chief Minister has always cared about the minorities, and that is why he invites Muslims to his house every year during the holy month of Ramadan".
When asked whether the longest-serving Chief Minister appeared emotional on the occasion, Chaudhary remarked cryptically: "Politics has its own dynamics. It is not guided by emotions".
After Kumar steps down, the new government is likely to be led by the BJP, the single largest party in the assembly.
Sources close to the JD(U) President claim that his son, Nishant, who was inducted into the party last week, is likely to be appointed as the Deputy Chief Minister in the new government.