The central leadership of BJP has made big changes in Bihar. Dr. Dilip Jaiswal has been appointed the new state president of the party by removing the current state president Samrat Chaudhary. Dr. Dilip Jaiswal is currently the Land and Revenue Minister in the state government and is a member of the Legislative Council for the third time. Jaiswal, who was elected MLC for the first time in 2009, comes from Khagaria district.
Dilip Jaiswal belongs to Kalwar caste. His appointment as BJP state president is being considered a major step by the party towards strengthening its “Vaishya” vote bank in the state ahead of next year’s assembly elections in Bihar.
However, the thing that is being discussed the most in the political circles of Bihar is the removal of Samrat Chaudhary from the post of state president. Ever since the BJP came to power in January 2024 and Nitish Kumar returned to the NDA, it was almost certain that Samrat Chaudhary would soon be removed, as he was made the Deputy Chief Minister in the state government and during the Lok Sabha elections. He also held the post of state president.
Also read: BJP appointed new president in Rajasthan, in-charge also appointed in 6 states
Could not get votes of his own caste
There is no provision in BJP for a person to hold the post at the same time. But, the BJP’s performance in the Lok Sabha elections has raised questions on the leadership of Samrat Chaudhary, who failed to get the votes of his own caste, Kushwaha and Koeri, for the party. As a result, BJP won only 12 out of 17 seats contested in Bihar.
What was worse for them was that the Kushwaha vote bank, which was traditionally the vote bank of the BJP, went to the RJD, because Lalu Prasad gave tickets to seven candidates from the Kushwaha community in the Lok Sabha elections.
Shock in Aurangabad
The last nail in the coffin was the BJP’s defeat in important seats like Aurangabad, Sasaram, Buxar and Arrah. BJP had all these seats in 2019, but in 2024 the party lost all the seats. The defeat in Aurangabad, also known as “Chittor of Bihar”, was a major setback for the saffron party, as RJD’s Abhay Kushwaha emerged victorious from the seat and became the leader of the RJD parliamentary party in the Lok Sabha.
There was also speculation immediately after the Lok Sabha elections that the BJP might retain him as the state president and he would be removed from the post of Deputy Chief Minister, as he did not have very good relations with Nitish Kumar. But now it seems that the saffron party has preferred to make changes within the party to strengthen the organization ahead of the 2025 assembly elections in the state.
Also read: What did Nitish Kumar get in return for forming the BJP government at the Centre?
That’s why command was handed over to Dilip Jaiswal
By appointing Dr. Dilip Jaiswal as state president, BJP has tried to strengthen its Vaishya vote bank. It seems that it has given up hope of wooing back the Koeri and Kushwaha vote bank in Bihar, which has now moved towards RJD.
After this change, Samrat Chaudhary will remain as Deputy Chief Minister in Nitish Kumar government. Samrat Chaudhary was first in RJD and then joined JDU and later joined BJP. In March 2023, he was appointed Bihar BJP President.