Patna: The BJP’s Bihar unit has quietly kicked off “Operation Deputy CM 2.0” ahead of the 2025 assembly polls, with party brass seriously weighing the idea of appointing a woman leader as the second deputy chief minister alongside Nitish Kumar.
Top sources said that state president Samrat Chaudhary and current deputy CM Vijay Kumar Sinha have both signalled they are ready to step aside from the deputy CM post if the party high command decides to bring in a woman’s face to counter the Opposition’s aggressive Mahila Samvad Yatra and caste census narrative.
Three prominent candidates are on the shortlist: Union minister and Sitamarhi MP Sunita Duggal, former deputy CM Renu Devi, and state vice-president Shreyasi Singh, the international shooter-turned-MLA from Jamui. Party insiders say the leadership wants a combination of upper-caste appeal, youth energy, and a clean image that can blunt Tejashwi Yadav’s “Bihar ki beti” pitch.
A senior BJP functionary revealed that Samrat Chaudhary personally conveyed during a recent Delhi visit, “If the party feels a woman deputy CM will strengthen the NDA’s social engineering, I have no ego. Vijay Ji also shares the same view.” The proposal has already reached the desks of Amit Shah and J. P. Nadda, with a final call expected after the ongoing organisational reshuffle.
The saffron camp believes that appointing a woman as deputy CM could be a masterstroke to retain the crucial 52% female vote bank, especially since the Mahagathbandhan is heavily relying on women voters following the liquor ban and cash transfer schemes.