Patna, June 4: Former minister Samrat Choudhary will join the BJP on June 11, during the visit of Uttar Pradesh deputy chief minister Keshav Prasad Maurya to Bihar.

Samrat, the son of veteran politician Shakuni Choudhary, is a Kushwaha by caste and BJP leaders believe his induction in the party would "give a positive message".

After the Yadavs, Kushwaha is the second biggest caste among the Other Backward Classes (OBC) in Bihar. Though caste census figures are unavailable, those entrenched in Bihar politics estimate the Kushwahas constitute something between six and nine per cent of the state's population.

"Even though Samrat has a chequered past, he comes from a family which has a good grip on the Kushwaha caste," a BJP leader said. "Keeping the ground realities in mind we decided to induct Samrat in the party."

Samrat will be taken into the BJP fold in the presence of Maurya who will attend an event at Patna's SK Memorial Hall on June 11.

As the BJP's alliance partner Upendra Kushwaha's Rashtriya Lok Samta Party failed to stage a good show in the 2015 elections, the party has been forced to take steps to broaden its own base among Bihar's Kushwahas, a BJP leader confided. "Visit of Keshav Prasad Maurya, a Kushwaha, and joining of Samrat in his presence, would give a positive message to the Kushwahas of Bihar," he said.

Confirming his plans to join the BJP, Samrat told The Telegraph today: "Even though I had not joined Hindustani Awam Morcha Secular (HAMS), my family's close association with the party gave me an opportunity to see the functioning of the NDA from close quarters. As it impressed me, I decided to join the BJP."

Samrat caught the limelight in 1999 when he was made minister in the then RJD government of Rabri Devi, but was removed when the opposition pointed out that he was underage. He continued with the RJD till 2010, shifting his loyalties to the JDU in 2014. He was made an MLC and also became minister in the short-lived Jitan Ram Manjhi government.

When Manjhi fell out with the JDU in 2015, Samrat's father Shakuni joined HAMS, while he lost his Legislative Council membership for alleged anti-party activities.

Samrat claimed that a good chunk of OBCs in Bihar are dissatisfied with Lalu Prasad and Nitish Kumar's brand of politics, and they want to be on the side of a party that doesn't just treat them as a votebank but works for their development.