Bihar CM Samrat Choudhary says Nitish Kumar stepped down voluntarily

Bihar Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary has asserted that his predecessor, JD(U) president Nitish Kumar, stepped down from the chief minister post voluntarily. Speaking at an event in Patna, Choudhary denied claims that the BJP forced Kumar to relinquish his position, stating that Kumar acted of his own accord.

Choudhary, the first BJP leader to head the Bihar government, described Kumar—who is now a Rajya Sabha MP—as the ‘undisputed leader’ of the NDA in Bihar. He noted that Kumar expressed a desire to reciprocate the gesture made by former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, who had allowed Kumar to become chief minister for the first time in 2000 despite the BJP having more MLAs.

During his remarks, Choudhary also referenced Bihar's political history, claiming that RJD president Lalu Prasad also rose to power through the ‘benediction’ of the BJP during his time with the Janata Dal.