A member of the dissolved Lok Sabha -- he represented the Khgaraia constituency in central Bihar -- Chaudhary is widely recognised as an important leader of the Koeris, an economically powerful Other Backward Class.

Alongwith the Kurmis, the Koeris form the backbone of the Samata Party. Chaudhary's desertion at this juncture is a major worry for the Samata Party. ``It will definitely affect our party's prospects in the ensuing Lok Sabha elections,'' admitted a senior Samata Party leader, adding, ``Our strength is based on a certain coalition of OBCs in which Chaudhary's caste has hitherto played an important role.''

A founder-member of the Samata Party, Chaudhary had of late developed serious differences with Union Railway Minister Nitish Kumar, a Kurmi. The decision toappoint Raghunath Jha, a former minister in Laloo Prasad Yadav's Government in Bihar as the president of the State unit of the Samata Party, infuriated him further.

Not many people were, therefore, surprised when his wife Parvati Devi, a member of the Legislative Assembly, broke away from the party earlier this year. Although Chaudhary denied he had anything to do with his wife's decision, suspicions that he had entered some sort of a deal with his erstwhile foe Laloo Yadav were confirmed when his son Rakesh Kumar, who is not even a member of the Assembly, was inducted into the Rabri Devi Ministry.

In the 1998 Lok Sabha elections, the Samata Party-Bharatiya Janata Party alliance had won 30 seats in the State. Of the 10 seats bagged by the Samata Party, two -- Khagaria and Ara -- were won by Koeri candidates. With Chaudhary deciding to quit the party, the Samata Party will be hard put to convince the Koeris to continue backing it.

Although the Koeris constitute just about seven per cent of the populationof Bihar, their votes are considered decisive in at least nine constituencies spread across Central and North Bihar. Besides Khagaria and Ara, these include Sasaram, Bikramgunj, Munger Bhagalpur and Banka (all in Central Bihar) and Samastipur and Muzzafarpur in North Bihar.

Aware that Chaudhary's decision to quit the Samata Party may alienate the Koeris, the party leadership had of late started taking measures to neutralise his influence. In pursuance of this, they had recently inducted Bhagwan Singh, a former MLA belonging to the RJD, into the party's campaign committee.

An influential Koeri leader from the Bhojpur division, Singh had started his career as a Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) leader but was weaned away by Laloo Yadav in 1993.