Modi’s Party Gets Its First Chief Minister to Govern Bihar State
Outgoing Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, right, with Samrat Choudhary in Patna, India, on April 14.
Photographer: Santosh Kumar/Hindustan Times/Getty ImagesPrime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party will for the first time lead the government in the politically crucial state of Bihar after its leader Samrat Choudhary was sworn in as the chief minister Wednesday.
Choudhary fills in for Nitish Kumar — the head of BJP’s regional partner Janata Dal (United) party — who resigned as Bihar’s chief minister after serving the state for two decades to move to the federal Parliament. Bihar is one of the poorest states in India and has been governed by regional parties for decades.