Patna, April 15 -- Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) lawmaker Samrat Choudhary will take oath as the 24th chief minister of Bihar on Wednesday, marking the first time the national party has claimed the top position in the state. Choudhary, a 57-year-old leader who hails from the other backward classes (OBC), on Tuesday staked claim to form the next government in Bihar soon after being unanimously elected leader of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) legislature party. This followed his earlier unanimous election as leader of the BJP legislature party. Choudhary, who earlier served as deputy CM to former chief minister Nitish Kumar government, is likely to take oath with two deputy chief ministers from the Janata Dal (United) - Bijendra Prasad Yadav and Vijay Kumar Choudhary, said a senior JD(U) leader. "This is not merely a position for me, but a sacred opportunity to serve the people of Bihar, to fulfill their trust and dreams. I pledge to live up to the expectations of one and all with complete dedication, commitment, and integrity," he said in a post on X. Hailing from a political family with father Shakuni Choudhary a former MP and MLA, Choudhury started his political career in the opposition Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) in 1999 and became a legislator in 2000. A formidable leader of the Kushwaha community, he is a three-time lawmaker. He won from Tarapur in 2025 and has been Parbatta MLA twice. The developments came hours after Nitish Kumar, who moved to the Rajya Sabha after a two-decade-long stint at the state's helm, tendered his resignation. "We did a lot of work for the people of Bihar and a lot more will be done in the state in the days to come, and Bihar will advance a great deal," he said in a post on X, his last as CM of Bihar. At the BJP meeting, Choudhary's name was proposed by deputy chief minister Vijay Kumar Sinha and seconded by senior leaders Renu Devi and Mangal Pandey. Union minister and central observer Shivraj Singh Chouhan made the formal announcement, calling it a "historic moment" that fulfills the dreams of workers since the Jana Sangh era. "This is an emotional moment," said Chouhan. "These are historic moments. Workers who have helped build the BJP organisation since the Jana Sangh days are seeing their dreams being realised today. Their resolve is complete today. I congratulate Samrat Choudhary," he said. Choudhary reiterated his commitment to stick to the BJP ideology and work with an 'India First' approach. "In my life, the BJP gave me several opportunities to serve. I have been working as a political worker for about 30 years, but there was no ideology by my side earlier. I have worked for the BJP since 2015. I assure the PM, home minister, party's national president, general secretary (organisation) BL Santhosh, Shivraj Singh Chouhan and party president Sanjay Saraogi that in keeping with the ideology of the BJP that puts India before everything else and prioritising the party," he added. He also appreciated Nitish Kumar. "Nitish Kumar taught a lot of things - how the government is run, how good governance will be established in Bihar and what is good for democracy in Bihar. Working on the vision of Viksit Bharat of PM Modi and prosperous Bihar of Nitish Kumar, we will together make Bihar prosperous and make the country developed," he said in his address to legislators. Kumar proposed his name in an NDA meeting. Earlier in the afternoon, Kumar submitted his resignation after holding the outgoing government's last cabinet meeting. Kumar reflected on his experiences spanning his 20-year tenure and described how he accelerated the pace of Bihar's development. A senior JD(U) leader said that party's two seniormost leaders - Bijendra Prasad Yadav and Vijay Kumar Choudhary - will take oath as deputy CMs. "There will only be three people taking the oath on Wednesday. The cabinet expansion may happen after the election in other states, as all the NDA constituents have to finalise their lists," said a second JD(U) leader. Yadav has been a nine-time MLA from Supaul and was seen as No. 2 in the JD(U), while Choudhary has represented Dalsinghsarai and Sarairanjan seats in Samastipur seven times. Both were consistently part of Nitish Kumar's cabinets with important portfolios and were considered close aides of the former CM....