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On Friday, newly sworn Bihar Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary was caught in the middle of a new political scandal when he refused to put on a skullcap, which was presented to him by an aged Muslim party worker.

The accident happened in a mass welcome program and Janata Darbar held in his house in Patna shortly after his own oath on April 15, 2026. When the employee attempted to give the traditional cap to his head to show respect, Choudhary very gently pushed him away, holding the cap in his hand and eventually giving it to his security guards.

Our worker then took him a shawl (gamcha), which the CM took and pleasantly put on. The cool but assertive act was recorded on camera and easily became viral, causing discussions to heat up on the social media and political platforms.

Some regarded it as a bold cultural claim, but others viewed it as a change in the symbolic politics of Bihar, recalling the previous Bihar leaders who had played tolerant roles to such overtures, such as Nitish Kumar. The episode remains dominant in discourses.