"THE PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN MODIJI AND NITISH KUMAR IS BIHAR'S BIGGEST ASSET"

Bihar's Deputy Chief Minister and Finance Minister SAMRAT CHOUDHARY opens up about his tumultuous entry into politics, the role of CM Nitish Kumar in reshaping Bihar's trajectory, and the ambitious plans the current government has to transform the state into a hub of industry, infrastructure, and opportunity. From the scars of imprisonment in his youth to the challenge of creating jobs for millions, Choudhary paints a detailed picture of where Bihar has come from, and where he believes it is headed. Excerpts from a wide-ranging interview with BW Businessworld's RUHAIL AMIN

- RUHAIL AMIN

You hail from a political family, but your own entry into politics has been quite unusual. How did your background and experiences shape the path you have taken?

My father was a soldier who fought in three wars in 1962, 1965, and 1971. I was born after these wars, and though I was born in Bihar, my early years were not steeped in politics. Politics came into my life in 1995, not by choice but by circumstance. At that time, my family was a political rival to Lalu Prasad Yadav. As a result, more than 22 lakh people linked to us were put behind bars. I too was jailed, tortured and spent nearly three years fighting cases before being released.

Those years were formative. Jail, lathi charges, cases of attempted murder, these were not the ways most people enter politics, but for me it was a baptism by fire. By 1999, after Lalu Prasad himself apologised before the Chief Minister and the Human Rights Commission, I was formally given a chance to enter Bihar's politics. My journey, therefore, has always been about struggle, about resisting injustice and standing firm. That's how I became a political worker, carrying forward not just my family's legacy but also my own scars and lessons.

How do you assess the role of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar in Bihar's transformation over the last two decades?

Bihar has seen many phases of leadership. Leaders like Sri Krishna Sinha, our first chief minister, dreamt of industrialisation and laid the foundations. Karpoori Thakur focused on social justice, ensuring the marginalised had a place in the political imagination of Bihar.