Sinha responded by saying the switch of agricultural land had been halted by CM Kumar and that it couldn’t be carried out with out his approval. Sinha added that his division would solely facilitate the switch if it acquired land in change. “If I switch land (in any other case), what’s going to individuals say?”

An upset Choudhary hit again, asking Sinha, “Will you be agriculture minister for all times?”

This invited a pointy retort from the BJP chief. “Already persons are questioning your ministry and it’s attracting a dangerous identify. It’s best to focus in your ministry,” he informed the JD(U) chief.

Sources recommend Sinha’s jab at Choudhary was fuelled by a current assault by Bihar Chief of the Opposition Tejashwi Yadav after Vinod Kumar, an engineer in Choudhary’s rural works division, was arrested by the Financial Offences Wing in a corruption case.

The engineer was held after he and his household allegedly tried to burn Rs 10 crore in money and flush it down the drains, which led to a clogging of the sewer strains. Throughout the raid, EoW officers may get better Rs 52 lakh in money, of which forex notes price about Rs 39 lakh have been broken past use.

Yadav, additionally the RJD MLA from Raghopur, wrote an extended X submit on the problem, headlining it “The weird story of Modi-Nitish corruption”.

“In Patna, the capital of Bihar located on the banks of the Ganga, a workforce from the EoU reached the home of an engineer near a strong minister at 1:30 am. However the engineer’s spouse didn’t open the gate till 6 AM. In these few hours, an try was made to destroy proof by burning almost Rs 10 crore.

“Burnt notes price Rs 10 crore have been present in rest room pipes and drains, clogging the whole system. Money was recovered from the water tank and bathroom pipes. The municipal company needed to be referred to as in to clear the choked drains within the neighbourhood,” he wrote.

Including, “Earlier, Rs 11 crore in money had additionally been recovered from the house of one other engineer within the constructing development division. Corruption in Bihar has reached such ranges that even the ashes of burnt notes at the moment are choking town’s drains. For this, all BJP and Nitish Kumar supporters can thank Modi and Nitish. In current days, one engineer was discovered to be the proprietor of Rs 500 crore, one other Rs 300 crore, and one other Rs 100 crore.”

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Bête noire 

Final month too, throughout a gathering of NDA MLAs within the Central Corridor of the Bihar Meeting, held within the presence of CM Nitish Kumar, some BJP legislators complained that Choudhary doesn’t invite native BJP MLAs to departmental programmes and doesn’t lengthen assist to their employees. It isn’t the only duty of the BJP to honour the “coalition dharma”, Deputy CM Sinha mentioned, additionally elevating objections over the worldwide tender course of for rural highway development, alleging the curiosity of BJP MLAs and employees had been ignored.

Sinha additional flagged the case of MLA Prahlad Yadav, who defected from the RJD, stating that a number of JD(U) leaders have been overtly saying he wouldn’t be given a ticket within the subsequent election. “This isn’t proper,” he mentioned.

मोदी-नीतीश के भ्रष्टाचार की अजब-गजब कहानी!

गंगा किनारे बसी बिहार की राजधानी पटना में रात 𝟏:𝟑𝟎 बजे एक शक्तिशाली मंत्री के करीबी इंजीनियर के घर 𝐄𝐎𝐔 की टीम पहुंची लेकिन इंजीनियर की पत्नी ने सुबह छह बजे तक गेट नहीं खोला।

इन चंद घंटों में लगभग 𝟏𝟎 करोड़ ₹ जलाकर सबूत मिटाने…

— Tejashwi Yadav (@yadavtejashwi) August 25, 2025

In June, the RJD launched a pointy assault on Nitish, accusing his authorities of making a “everlasting damaad (sons-in-law) aayog” in Bihar by inducting family of distinguished politicians into commissions and boards. It identified that a number of kin of political leaders, together with the sons-in-law of Ashok Choudhary, Jitan Ram Manjhi and the late Ram Vilas Paswan got positions in state our bodies.

Ashok Choudhary’s son-in-law Saayan Kunal was appointed a member of the Dharmik Nyas Board. Kunal is married to Choudhary’s daughter Shambhavi, a Lok Janshakti Social gathering (Ram Vilas) MP.

The RJD alleged that such appointments spotlight the Nitish authorities’s double requirements on nepotism.

Ashok Choudhary himself was chosen as an assistant professor by the State College Fee. His former get together, Congress, mocked his choice on the age of 58. A Congress chief within the state mentioned, “Younger persons are not getting jobs, however Ashok Choudhary has develop into a professor on the age of 58, because of the RSS quota.”

Choudhary defended himself, saying he wouldn’t take a wage and had utilized 5 years in the past resulting from his aptitude in teachers. He added his analysis papers have been printed in a number of journals and that he was even invited to the Harvard to current a paper on ladies from the Scheduled Class (SC).

Earlier than that, Jan Suraaj founder Prashant Kishor charged Choudhary with “buying” a Lok Sabha ticket from the LJP (RV) for his daughter Shambhavi within the 2024 common election. “Ashok Choudhary is an all-party chief. His father was within the Congress, he’s a minister from the JDU, his daughter is an MP from the LJP, and his son-in-law acquired membership (of the Nyas) via the RSS quota,” Kishor mentioned.

Choudhary responded with a defamation case towards Kishor, accusing him of tarnishing his picture.

Final yr, after the Lok Sabha polls, Choudhary blamed the Bhumihar neighborhood for the JD(U)’s loss in Jehanabad, not directly hinting the BJP couldn’t switch Bhumihar votes to the JD(U).

“I do know the Bhumihars very nicely. When the Lok Sabha elections have been held, these individuals deserted Nitish Kumar. Simply because we fielded a candidate from an especially backward caste, we misplaced,” he had mentioned. The remarks drew sharp condemnation from the BJP and Sinha responded, “Bhumihars are usually not only a caste. They characterize a tradition that’s rooted to the bottom. No well-wisher of society would make an antagonistic comment concerning the neighborhood.”

A Nitish confidant

Ashok Choudhary’s rise in Bihar politics has been outstanding. As soon as thought of the Congress’s potential Dalit face within the state, he grew to become one in all Nitish’s shut aides in lower than a decade, abandoning many others within the JD(U). His father, Mahavir Choudhary, was a senior Congress chief who held ministerial berths in a number of governments.

Choudhary, who holds a doctorate in political science together with levels in regulation, started his profession as a Youth Congress chief. He first gained the Meeting election from Barbigha in 2000 and was made minister for prisons within the Rabri Devi authorities. He retained his seat within the February 2005 Meeting elections however misplaced the re-election held in November the identical yr.

The Congress then moved him into the organisational arrange and appointed him vice chairman of the get together’s state unit. Within the 2009 Lok Sabha polls, the get together fielded him from Jamui, however he misplaced, adopted by one other defeat within the 2010 Meeting elections.

Regardless of the setbacks, the Congress didn’t lose hope in him. When Rahul Gandhi, after turning into get together president in 2013, started selling younger leaders within the states, Choudhary was appointed president of the Bihar Congress, turning into the primary Dalit in 25 years to go the get together’s state unit.

The appointment was made with the hope to counter Nitish’s aggressive Mahadalit outreach.

When JD(U) joined fingers with the RJD and the Congress to type Mahagathbandhan in 2015, Choudhary was made schooling minister within the Nitish-led authorities. And when Nitish give up the Mahagathbandhan in 2017, Choudhary too dumped the Congress and switched to the JD(U) together with three Congress MLCs.

Nitish inducted Choudhary into his cupboard, and forward of the 2020 Bihar Meeting elections, made him working president of the JD(U). Given Choudhary’s Mahadalit background—he comes from the Pasi neighborhood—Nitish has relied on him to consolidate the estimated 19.65 % Mahadalit vote financial institution as a loyal assist base.

Nevertheless, after the Lok Sabha elections, when the JD(U) inducted one other Dalit chief, Shyam Rajak, and made him common secretary of the get together, Choudhary posted a cryptic message on social media, hinting a rift between him and Nitish.

“Go away them as you get older. If somebody shouldn’t be understanding after explaining it a few times, then don’t clarify it to these in entrance of you, simply go away it; when the youngsters develop up and begin making their very own choices, go away it.

“If we don’t get concepts from each other, go away it; if after a sure age none asks about you or somebody is saying flawed issues about you behind your again then don’t take it by coronary heart, go away it; worrying concerning the future once you expertise you don’t have anything in your fingers, go away it; if there’s a massive distinction between want and talent, then have much less expectations from your self, go away it…,” he posted on X in Hindi.

The submit didn’t go down nicely with the JD(U) and a few leaders attacked him, however inside two days, the agricultural works minister was made nationwide common secretary of the JD(U). He visited Nitish and referred to as Nitish ‘manas pita’ (father determine).

Requested if Choudhary and Sinha exchanging barbs had any impression on the power of the NDA in an election yr, a JD(U) chief informed ThePrint, “In alliances, such disagreements occur. However total, there isn’t a such divergent viewpoint on bigger concern of growth.”

JD(U) spokesperson Rajiv Ranjan Prasad informed ThePrint, “Divergent views are a part of democracy and such divergence might be seen within the cupboard.”

BJP spokesperson Prem Ranjan Patel mentioned, “The EoW motion exhibits the Nitish Kumar authorities has zero tolerance to corruption and that’s the reason the engineer was arrested. So far as Ashok Choudhary is worried, in alliance each get together has its personal viewpoint however there are not any variations as such.”

One other BJP chief from the state mentioned, “Some ministers don’t take alongside BJP employees. The current case of arrest has harmed the picture of the agricultural growth ministry.

“However resulting from Nitish Kumar’s clear picture, the NDA won’t really feel the warmth. With Nitish ageing, a number of teams inside the JD(U) are selling their curiosity over the get together’s which is concern for the BJP and the NDA.”

(Edited by Ajeet Tiwari)

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