Samrat Choudhary and Vijay Kumar Sinha of the BJP have taken oath as the new Deputy Chief Ministers of Bihar after CM Nitish Kumar did one of his regular U-turns and joined hands with the BJP once again.
Nitish, along with Sinha, Choudhary, and six other ministers, were sworn in by Bihar Governor Rajendra Arlekar on Sunday.
JD(U) members Vijay Kumar Choudhary, Vijendra Yadav and Shrawan Kumar also took oath apart from former CM Jitan Ram Manjhi-led Hindustan Awam Morcha's Santosh Kumar Suman and independent legislator Sumit Singh.
Political career of Vijay Kumar Sinha
Sinha is an MLA from Bihar's Lakhisarai, and before Nitish's flip-flop, was the Leader of Opposition in the Assembly. He has won from Lakhisarai on three consecutive occasions.
When Kumar's JD(U) and the BJP together came to power in Bihar in 2020, Sinha was elected Speaker. This was the first time in history that a member of the BJP became the Speaker of Bihar.
However, Sinha had to vacate his position after a no-confidence motion was moved in the Assembly by him by members of the Mahagathbandhan alliance. It was after this that he was made the Leader of Opposition in the Assembly.
In March of 2022, Sinha and Nitish Kumar were involved in a war of words in the Bihar Assembly on whether a matter being probed by the government which has also been referred to the privilege committee could be raised on the floor of the House “again and again”.
Although Nitish raised his voice, Sinha had begun on a pacifying note, expressing the immense respect he had for the chief minister's knowledge and experience, besides acknowledging the latter's support “which helped my elevation to this Chair.”
Sinha is a former RSS worker, according to a report by The Indian Express. He is also a civil engineer by profession.
With PTI inputs
Published 28 January 2024, 16:31 IST