Kamal Ghorui
Patna: BJP workers erupted in celebration outside the party office on Birchand Patel Path here on Wednesday as Samrat Chaudhary took oath as Bihar’s chief minister (CM). Party workers distributed sweets on the office premises amid drumbeats and chants of ‘Jai Shri Ram’. BJP state president Sanjay Saraogi welcomed the CM. However, contrast, the JD(U) state headquarters office wore a deserted look, with locked halls and empty chairs.After taking oath, the CM paid homage and garlanded statues of party ideologues Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya, Syama Prasad Mukherjee and Kailashpati Mishra. He also exchanged greetings with party workers.Addressing them, Samrat said his focus would be on development. “The govt will function on the strength of party workers, and the respect accorded to them will continue to grow. I have come to accept your greetings and thank everyone,” he said.Saraogi said lakhs of BJP and NDA workers were confident that Nitish Kumar’s ‘development with justice’ agenda would gain renewed momentum. He added that good governance established in the state would be further strengthened and the development model accelerated at an even faster pace.Under Samrat’s leadership, Bihar would set new benchmarks in development, good governance and public welfare, Saraogi said, adding that effective measures would be taken to uplift every section of society.The party office turned festive within minutes of the oath ceremony. “This is a historic day for Bihar. Samrat will take the state on the path of development,” said Ramesh Singh, a BJP worker from Kankarbagh, who had been waiting since morning.Women workers applied gulal to each other while youth activists raised slogans of “Bihar mein baa, BJP sarkar”.Party leaders said the atmosphere reflected public support for the BJP’s CM face for the first time. “This is the result of people’s faith in Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP. Samrat will give Bihar a strong and decisive government,” said Sunita Devi, a BJP Mahila Morcha worker from Patna City.Ravi Shankar Kumar, a youth wing member from Danapur, added, “We have waited for this day. The double-engine government is back. Now development will be fast and corruption-free.”A local sweet shop owner, Manoj Sah, said he received bulk orders for nearly 50kg of laddoos since morning. “The whole lane is celebrating like Holi and Diwali together,” he said.The party office gate was decorated with flowers and large hoardings of Samrat were installed near the entrance. However, despite the celebrations, the huge crowds seen on earlier occasions were missing.Expressing dissent, BJP supporter Rajiv Kumar said, “Samrat ji has become CM, but we are not fully happy. He is not from the core cadre. He switched from RJD to JD(U) and then to BJP. The CM should have been chosen from leaders who dedicated their entire lives to the party.”Meanwhile, the JD(U) state headquarters at Birchand Patel Marg remained largely deserted. Though the main gate was open, halls were locked and chairs lay empty, with only a few security personnel and staff present.“It feels strange. During the last government formation, this place was packed with workers and media. Today it is silent,” said Ashok Paswan, who runs a tea stall near the JD(U) office.A JD(U) worker, requesting anonymity, said, “We are waiting for directions from the top leadership. Everyone is upset. Politics is about timing, but it is very sad that Nishant ji was not made deputy chief minister.”
