Published 14:06 IST, November 25th 2020
BJP MLA Vijay Sinha elected as Speaker of Bihar Assembly amid ruckus over Lalu audiotape
Amid ruckus in the Bihar assembly, BJP's Vijay Sinha was elected as the Speaker of the Assembly. RJD has claimed that the NDA placed fake MLAs to win the post
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Amid ruckus in the Bihar assembly, BJP's Vijay Sinha was elected as the house's Speaker on Wednesday. Sinha, who was the candidate of the ruling NDA, got 126 votes as against 114 polled in favour of RJDs Awadh Bihari Chaudhary who was fielded by the opposition Grand Alliance.
Earlier, when the saffron party named Sinha for the Speaker's post, it had come as a surprise to state leaders who were expecting senior leader Nand Kishor Yadav’s name for the post. This comes even as the assembly witnessed a massive ruckus over jailed RJD chief purportedly attempting to fix the election by dialing NDA MLAs and making offers to them to abstain from voting or by jumping ship.
Sinha is an engineer and a Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh worker who has been winning from Lakhisarai assembly seat since 2010. With Sinha in charge, BJP has its first-ever speaker in the Bihar assembly. Bihar BJP has a new set of leaders as the party has removed former Deputy CM Sushil Modi and appointed Tarkishor Prasad and Renu Devi in the post. As the party won a greater number of seats than its ally JDU, it was expected that it will keep the post of Deputy CM and Speaker for itself.
RJD's allegation
Making counter-allegations against the NDA after an audiotape of Lalu Prasad went viral wherein he is heard attempting to lure a BJP MLA while himself being lodged in jail, RJD has said that the ruling alliance is breaking the norms of the Bihar assembly. RJD spokesperson Manoj Jha in a press conference asked why Mukesh Sahni and Ashok Choudhary were present in the Assembly even as they are not MLAs or MLCs. While both Mukesh Sahni and Ashok Choudhary are ministers of CM Nitish Kumar's cabinet, Jha claimed that the ministers cannot sit in either house during the election of Speaker of the House. Tejashwi reiterated the claims despite pro-tem speaker Jitan Ram Manjhi clarification.
NDA's slender majority in Bihar Assembly
The NDA enjoys a slender majority in the Bihar Assembly. The 2020 Bihar Assembly election witnessed a voter turnout of 57.05% as against that of 56.66% in the 2015 polls. The polls turned out to be a nail-biting contest with NDA emerging victorious in 125 seats as against that of 110 seats won by the Mahagatbandhan.
BJP, RJD, JD(U), Congress won 74, 75, 43, and 19 seats respectively. AIMIM made a huge mark in Bihar politics as 5 of its candidates were declared winners. With 4 seats each, VIP and HAM(S) had a crucial role to play in the ruling alliance breaching the majority mark. In a sign of their clout in NDA, HAM(S)'s Santosh Kumar Suman was named as the Minister for Minor Irrigation and Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribe Welfare whereas VIP chief Mukesh Sahani has taken charge of Animal Husbandry and Fisheries portfolios.
Nitish Kumar's cabinet
Apart from Nitish Kumar who was sworn in as the Chief Minister of Bihar, 14 other Ministers were administered the oath of office and secrecy on November 16. This includes 4-time BJP MLAs Tarkishore Prasad and Renu Devi who shall serve as the Deputy Chief Ministers of the state. While Kumar has retained the Home department, Prasad has been assigned the portfolios such as Finance, Commercial Taxes, IT, Disaster Management and Urban Development.
On the other hand, Renu Devi will handle Panchayati Raj, Backward and Extremely Backward Class Welfare and Industry departments. The Minority Affairs portfolio has been assigned to Bihar JD(U) president Ashok Choudhary and an additional Education department has been assigned after the resignation of Mewalal Choudhary. Amid the COVID-19 crisis, BJP MLC Mangal Pandey has been retained as the Health Minister.
13:31 IST, November 25th 2020