Patna: Nitish Kumar, the longest-serving Chief Minister of Bihar, on Tuesday, April 14, submitted his resignation from the post to Governor Syed Ata Hasnain. Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary has been elevated to the CM’s post.

“I have done a lot of work for the people of Bihar. Recently, I decided to leave the post of chief minister…and therefore, after today’s cabinet meeting, I met the governor and submitted my resignation to him,” Kumar said, accompanied by Samrat Choudhary, Janata Dal (United)’s national working president Sanjay Jha, and state minister Vijay Choudhary.

The 75-year-old JD(U) chief became a Rajya Sabha MP last week. “Now the new government will look after the work in Bihar. The new government will have my full cooperation and guidance,” Kumar wrote on the social media post.

Samrat Choudhary will be the Bharatiya Janata Party’s first chief minister in Bihar. He represents the Tarapur constituency. The decision was taken earlier in the day at a meeting in Patna, attended by members of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA).

The BJP, the single largest party in the 243-strong assembly with 89 MLAs, has elected Choudhary as its legislature party. Union minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, whom the BJP parliamentary board named central observer for the legislature party leader’s election, told reporters, “Samrat Chaudhary was unanimously elected as the BJP’s legislature party leader.”

The oath ceremony is likely to be held on Wednesday, April 15.

(With PTI inputs)