Posters project Samrat as CM outside BJP office, torn down

Patna: Amid widespread speculation over a possible power shift in Bihar, several posters declaring deputy chief minister Samrat Choudhary as the head of the new govt were found pasted outside the state BJP office on Thursday, as CM Nitish Kumar left for Delhi earlier in the day to take oath as a Rajya Sabha member.People were surprised to find a large number of posters outside the state BJP office projecting Samrat as the next chief minister. Promptly distancing itself from the poster controversy, the party said the BJP had nothing to do with such posters. However, as the issue attracted media attention, some people were seen hurriedly tearing them down, though the posters had already gone viral on social media.The message on the posters read: “Valmiki Samaj Sangh ki yahi pukar, Bihar mein ho Samrat ki sarkar.” The posters were pasted by the national president of Valmiki Samaj Sangh, Rajesh Kumar Valmiki, who claimed to be associated with the BJP.“We do not know who has put up these posters. We can, at this moment, only say that who will be the next CM is a decision to be taken collectively, as is the party’s tradition,” BJP state media in-charge Danish Iqbal told the media on Thursday. Denying any involvement of the BJP in the poster controversy, Iqbal said he was not aware who was doing what. “But no BJP worker is involved in it,” he said.Although people continue to speculate about who will become the next chief minister of Bihar, Samrat’s name has been widely discussed as a front-runner among those in the race for the top post after Nitish was frequently seen during the Samridhi Yatra placing his hands on Samrat’s back and seeking support from the masses at the end of each rally that concluded only last month. During every yatra rally, it became a regular sight for Nitish to walk up to Samrat on the stage, place his hands on Samrat’s shoulder and seek people’s blessings.Reacting sharply to the tearing of posters, the RJD said the development indicated internal strife within the BJP. “The posters were torn down by BJP workers. The tearing of the poster is a sign that backward class leadership is not desired,” RJD spokesperson Ejaz Ahmed said.Hailing from the Koeri caste, an influential OBC group that both the BJP and the main opposition party RJD have been trying to woo with equal intensity, Samrat was made the state party president in 2023 and became the deputy chief minister a year later when the NDA returned to power following the JD(U) president’s return to the coalition. Samrat started his political career with the RJD and later moved to the JD(U) before joining the BJP.