Five faces who are in the race for Bihar CM's chair

PATNA: Five names from BJP are doing the rounds to step into CM Nitish Kumar's shoes - Samrat Choudhary, Nityanand Rai, Sanjay Jaiswal, Dilip Jaiswal, and Janak Ram.Samrat Choudhary: The deputy CM, and second most powerful person in the state cabinet.

A former BJP state chief, he belongs to Koeri community and fits into the Luv-Kush chemistry promoted by Nitish, a Kurmi.

Koeris represent 4.2% of Bihar's population. His greatest strength is his aggressive style. However, his RJD and JDU background may go against him.Nityanand Rai: Union MoS, enjoys the confidence of Amit Shah, and can play a big role in denting RJD votes among his Yadav community. An ex-state BJP chief with an ABVP background.

But many in BJP believe that elevating him to the top post in Bihar may antagonise other OBC and EBC communities.Sanjay Jaiswal: West Champaran MP since 2009, and ex-BJP Bihar chief. He is considered a suave but tough politician when it comes to taking on opposition. Belons to Vaishya community. He is considered close to BJP brass and fits into the party's caste chemistry.Dilip Jaiswal: A Bihar minister, headed BJP in the state when NDA won 202 seats in Nov assembly polls.

Belonging to Vaishya (Kalwar) community, he is considered close to Shah. A moderate and organisationally reliable politician, he hails from Kishanganj.Janak Ram: The 53-year-old Dalit face of BJP in Bihar. He was minister of mines and SC and ST welfare. An ex-Gopalganj MP, Janak is an MLC and is considered an organisational man. He belongs to Ravidas community and maintains a low profile. He started his political career in BJP at the grassroots level.