Two senior leaders of the Janata Dal (United), Bijendra Prasad Yadav and Vijay Kumar Choudhary, are set to take oath as Deputy Chief Ministers in the new BJP-led NDA government in Bihar, which will be headed by Samrat Choudhary as Chief Minister.
Yadav, 79, a nine-time MLA from Supaul in the Kosi region, will assume office as the first Deputy CM, while Choudhary, considered a close associate of outgoing CM Nitish Kumar, will be sworn in as the second Deputy CM.
Sources said Nishant Kumar declined the Deputy CM post, preferring to focus on organisational work.
Yadav belongs to the OBC community, while Choudhary is from the upper-caste Bhumihar community. The decision to appoint two Deputy CMs from JD(U) was taken at a core committee meeting held late Tuesday evening.
A veteran socialist, Bijendra Prasad Yadav has represented the Supaul Assembly constituency since 1990. He is regarded as a close associate of late Sharad Yadav and began his political career with the Janata Dal before joining JD(U). He had also served as a minister in the cabinet of former CM Lalu Prasad Yadav.
Vijay Kumar Choudhary is a four-time MLA from Sarairanjan in Samastipur district and has been closely associated with Nitish Kumar. He began his political career with the Congress and was once linked to former CM Jagannath Mishra. He later joined JD(U) in 2005 and went on to serve as state party president and Assembly Speaker. He has also handled key portfolios such as Finance and Water Resources in the Nitish Kumar government. Before entering politics, he worked as a banker.
According to sources, Samrat Choudhary will be sworn in as Chief Minister on Wednesday, with the oath-taking ceremony to be administered by Governor Syed Ata Hussain at Lok Bhavan. Preparations for the ceremony have been completed.
Other ministers are expected to be inducted during a cabinet expansion scheduled for the first week of May.