From MLA to Bihar Speaker: Here’s Vijay Sinha’s Political Journey
Newly appointed Bihar Speaker, Vijay Sinha, held the Labour Resources portfolio in the Nitish Kumar govt in 2017.
Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) Vijay Sinha was elected as the Speaker of the Bihar Assembly on Wednesday, 25 November. The Lakhisarai MLA reportedly bagged 126 votes for the post. Rashtriya Janata Dal’s (RJD) Awadh Bihari Chaudhary won just 114 votes.
The BJP, which has played second fiddle to Nitish Kumar’s Janata Dal (United) (JD(U)) in the past, claimed the Speaker’s post for the first time since 2005. The tables turned in the recent state elections in Bihar, when the BJP won a total of 74 seats while JD(U)’s tally dipped to 43.
A day before being elected Speaker, Sinha had told reporters he was confident of a win. “The post of Speaker is elected with mutual understanding of ruling and opposition parties and it is based on numbers. Our alliance has projected me on the basis of seniority and we are fully confident about it,” he said.
Who Is Vijay Sinha?
Vijay Sinha has served as a Cabinet Minister in the previous Bihar government led by Nitish Kumar in 2017. He held the Labour Resources portfolio in the Cabinet. An engineer by education, Vijay Sinha has also been an RSS worker.
A Bhumihar by caste, political analysts say that Sinha’s caste played a big factor in his election to the post of Speaker as the BJP leadership wanted the post of either Speaker or Deputy CM be given to an upper-caste leader.
With both Bihar’s Deputy Chief Ministers, Renu Devi and Tarakishore Prasad, belonging to backward castes, the BJP leadership hoped to balance the caste equations by appointing Vijay Sinha as Speaker instead of Nand Kishor Yadav, who was being considered for the post.
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