Bihar Minister clears university panel’s recruitment exam for post of assistant professor

Bihar Rural Works Minister Ashok Choudhary, a close aide of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, has been selected for the post of Assistant Professor after he cleared the Bihar State University Service Commission (BSUSC) recruitment exam 2020 in Political Science.

He has been selected under the Scheduled Caste (SC) category. The results were announced on Tuesday (June 24, 2025) evening.

BSUSC had released recruitment for 4,638 Assistant Professor posts in 52 subjects in 2020, which included 280 posts of Political Science; as many as 275 candidates were selected, including the 57-year-old Minister.

While speaking to The Hindu from Assam, Mr. Choudhary said, “Yes, I have been selected for the post of Assistant Professor in political science.”

Asked about accepting the job while serving as a Minister in the Bihar government, Mr. Choudhary said, “It depends on which University I would be allotted. If it will be around Patna, then I will work it out both.”

Born in the Sheikhpura district, Mr. Choudhary began his political career with the Congress party and was elected MLA from Barbigha in 2000. He was also Bihar Congress chief in 2013 but switched to Janata Dal (United) in 2018.

Mr. Choudhary, currently a member of the Bihar Legislative Council, had also been a Minister in the Education Department and the Building Construction Department.

Mr. Choudhary’s family has been active in politics for a long time; his father, the late Mahavir Choudhary, was in Congress as well, and had served as an MLA and Minister. His daughter, Shambhavi Choudhary, is a Member of Parliament from Samastipur constituency.

Asked whether the Opposition was likely to raise this issue, Mr. Choudhary said, “I have cleared the exam and applied according to the eligibility criteria. They do not have any topic to raise, and I don’t bother about Opposition talks about me. If they have failed to generate employment during their tenure, then it’s their failure.”

The BSUSC had sought applications from eligible candidates to fill the vacant posts of Professors and Assistant Professors in different colleges. The commission conducted the interview in the year 2020. The maximum age for eligible candidates was fixed at 55 years.