WHY BJP REMOVED SAMRAT CHOUDHARY AS ITS BIHAR CHIEF
The BJP's decision on July 25 to remove Samrat Choudhary as its Bihar president had more or less been seen as coming. Choudhary, who took charge in March 2023, failed to deliver to the party bosses' expectations, as the Lok Sabha poll results showed. Despite his removal, Choudhary will continue to serve as one of the two deputy chief ministers in the Nitish Kumar government.
The BJP had counted on Choudhary's leadership to secure the 4.21 per cent Kushwaha vote share. While the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD)-led Opposition had fielded seven Kushwaha candidates and Nitish's Janata Dal (United) two, the BJP did not put in the fray a single Kushwaha nominee, hoping that Choudhary would attract the community's votes. However, the poll results indicated that the RJD-led Opposition managed to win over a significant section of these voters.
The BJP's Lok Sabha seats tally in Bihar dropped from 17 in 2019 to 12, and its vote share declined from 23.6 per cent to 20.5 per cent. The choice of Dilip Jaiswal as Choudhary's successor has somewhat confirmed that the party does not always follow the one man-one post formula. Jaiswal is the revenue and land reforms minister of Bihar. Originally from Khagaria district, he is considered to be a prominent BJP leader in the state.
The decision to appoint Jaiswal as state president stems from the BJP's realisation that the party needs to empower its core Vaishya community voters. Before Choudhary, Sanjay Jaiswal from the same community had been the party's Bihar chief.
By dropping Choudhary, the BJP appears to have realised the futility of the idea to engineer a split in Nitish's core 'Luv-Kush' (OBC Kurmi-Koeri) vote base. With Upendra Kushwaha being sent to the Rajya Sabha and Nitish already in the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), the BJP seems to have decided to focus on its core constituency of voters a year before the Bihar assembly elections.
Choudhary's political journey has been notable for its rapid ascent within the BJP. He joined the party in 2017 after starting his career with the RJD in 1999, and then switching to the JD(U) in 2014. By March 2023, Choudhary had risen to the position of BJP state president, with the central leadership positioning him as the party's Kushwaha face in Bihar. However, a group of state BJP leaders, who began their political careers in the BJP, had started showing lack of faith in Choudhary's leadership.
Choudhary's swift rise is believed to have also unsettled some BJP leaders in the state. A section of BJP leaders, considered to be supporters of Union minister of state Nityanand Rai, have blamed Choudhary for the BJP's losses in traditional strongholds, accusing him of failing to retain the Kushwaha vote.
On July 3, Choudhary, who had vowed to continue wearing a turban until he had dethroned Nitish as chief minister, ended the vow by removing the turban and shaving his head in Ayodhya. He dedicated it to the feet of Lord Ram since Nitish had "switched back to the National Democratic Alliance". But this could not save his position in the party.
As Bihar gets set to face assembly polls, the role of the state BJP president is crucial. The state unit chief plays a crucial role during elections, presiding over the unit and significantly influencing candidate selection. This leadership position entails strategic decision-making, ensuring that the party's goals align with regional dynamics and voter preferences.
The state president is also responsible for galvanising the grassroots network, coordinating campaign efforts and maintaining party discipline. Their insights and judgments are vital in identifying candidates who can effectively represent the party's values and appeal to the electorate. The president's ability to navigate internal politics and external pressures directly impacts the party's cohesion and electoral success, making this role indispensable in the electoral process. All this would now be on Jaiswal's table since Choudhary has bowed out to the wishes of the BJP high command.
2024-07-26T14:45:49Z dg43tfdfdgfd