New Delhi: A number of posters portraying Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary as the head of a new government to be formed in the state surfaced outside the BJP office in Patna. These posters came up as Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar is set to take oath as a Rajya Sabha member.
The posters were marked with the label ‘Valmiki Samaj’, a Dalit community traditionally associated with sanitation work. Party office staff tore down some of these posters. The party was quick to distance itself from the controversy, stating that the BJP had no links with the posters.
VIDEO | Patna: Posters projecting Samrat Choudhary as the new Bihar CM put up outside the BJP office as Nitish Kumar arrives in Delhi.
(Full video available on PTI Videos – https://t.co/n147TvrpG7) pic.twitter.com/jtH9kDfqMh
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) April 9, 2026
What did BJP say
Reacting to the posters, BJP state media in charge Danish Eqbal reportedly said: “We do not know who has put up these posters.” He added that the decision on the next CM will be taken collectively, as per the party’s tradition. He maintained that those behind putting up the posters had no affiliation with the BJP.
The posters read: “Valmiki Samaj Sangh ki yahi pukar, Bihar mein ho Samrat ki sarkar. (This is the call of the Valmiki Samaj Sangh: Let there be a Samrat government in Bihar. We have extended every possible support to the BJP; let the contract system be abolished under your administration.”
As per a TOI report, the posters were put up by Rajesh Kumar Valmiki, national president of Valmiki Samaj Sangh, who claims to have association with the BJP.
Kumar is likely to convene his last cabinet meeting next week after he being sworn in as a Rajya Sabha MP on Friday, before quitting as chief minister.
The Bihar Congress flagged the incident on its X account. The party indicated that the torn posters showed rift within the BJP regarding Choudhary’s potential elevation to the post of Chief Minister.
Samrat Choudhary a frontrunner
Choudhary has turned to be a one of the frontrunners in the race for the top post, marking a rapid rise since joining the BJP less than a decade ago.
He is from the influential Koeri OBC community. In 2023, he became the state party president. A year later, he was elevated to deputy CM post, when the NDA regained power after the JD(U) chief rejoined the alliance.
In last year’s Assembly polls, when the NDA retained power, Choudhary remained deputy chief minister and was given the key home portfolio.
Sources in the BJP said the new government will be formed after April 14, when the month-long inauspicious Hindu calendar period of ‘Kharmaas’ ends, according to a PTI report.