Bihar’s deputy chief minister Samrat Chaudhary , serving the second in command in the state’s national democratic alliance (NDA) government, who is contesting from Tarapur constituency in the state’s Munger district is leading by a whopping margin of 25,376 votes, leaving Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD)’s Arun Kumar behind, as of the 18th round of counting at around 14.58 am. Vikassheel Insan Party (VIP)’s Sakaldeo Bind and Jan Suraaj Party’s Dr. Santosh Singh are also trailing behind.
Chaudhary began his political career in 1999 with the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and became a minister in Rabri Devi’s government.(ANI file photo)
Chaudhary is contesting elections after 15 years. His main opponent Shah had previously unsuccessfully contested the 2021 bypolls after he lost to JD(U)’s Rajiv Kumar Singh by a slim margin of 3,800 votes.
The first phase of the two-phased Bihar polls took place on November 6, followed by the second phase on November 11.
Who is Samrat Chaudhary?
As a star campaigner of the saffron party, Chaudhary serves as the second-in-command in Bihar’s NDA government and has been the chief of the BJP’s Bihar unit since 2023. He comes from a strong political background—his father, Shakuni Chaudhary, was a six-time MLA from Tarapur since 1985, while his mother, Parvati Devi, was also elected to the Bihar Assembly once.
Chaudhary began his political career in 1999 with the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and became a minister in Rabri Devi’s government. A year later, in 2000, he was elected as an MLA from the Parbatta constituency in Khagaria on an RJD ticket and retained the seat in 2010. In 2014, he switched to the Janata Dal (United) and served as a minister in Jitan Ram Manjhi’s government. He later joined the BJP in 2017, where he quickly rose through the ranks, serving as state vice-president and Member of the Legislative Council before becoming the state unit president. In January 2024, he was appointed deputy chief minister.
Controversies and cases against Samrat Chaudhary
The Congress recently accused him of manipulating his date of birth in election affidavits to “hoodwink voters and flout constitutional norms.” Congress leader Supriya Shrinate alleged that in his 2010 election affidavit, Chaudhary claimed to be 28 years old—aligning with a 1981 birth year—which would make him 44 now. However, in the 2025 filing, his age is listed as 56. Shrinate called for an Election Commission of India (ECI) probe into the matter. Jan Suraj Party founder Prashant Kishor has made similar allegations against Chaudhary. He is accused in a 1995 murder case alongside his father Shakuni in connection to the killing of Congress’s Tarapur candidate Sachchidanand Singh. He was killed along with his five aides on the day of counting for that year’s assembly polls. As a police case was filed against Chaudhary, JSP founder says that he altered his age to appear as a minor in the case.
Chaudhary has two criminal cases filed against him in Patna and Munger, while his assets are worth ₹11 crore, including agricultural land, commercial, and residential properties, according to data available on myneta.info.
Highlights from battlefield Tarapur
While it remains to be seen how the friendly fight between Mahagathbandhan candidates on the Tarapur seat pans out for Chaudhary, Tarapur has long been a Chaudhary stronghold, with his father elected multiple times from different parties. However, development issues could dent his popularity, as locals have expressed discontent over the lack of jobs and the poor socio-economic situation in the region, according to a report in Bhaskar English. His opponent, RJD’s Shah, is seen as a “polite” candidate who has raised concerns about poor healthcare, lack of educational opportunities, and farmers’ struggles.
Tarapur has traditionally been a bastion of the Janata Dal (United), as the representatives elected in the last three elections have all been from Nitish Kumar’s party. The sitting MLA, Mewa Lal Chaudhary, succeeded M.L. Chaudhary in 2015, who in turn was preceded by Neeta Chaudhary. The caste composition of Tarapur includes around 63,000 Yadavs, 20,000 Muslims, 50,000 upper castes (Rajputs and Brahmins), 40,000 Kushwahas, 35,000 Sahs, and 28,000 Dalits, according to Indian Express. In 2020 Assembly elections, the constituency recorded a voter turnout of 55%, with 1,74,547 votes cast.
