Bihar: NDA, Mahagathbandhan Field Candidates for Speaker Post

BJP’s Vijay Kumar Sinha and RJD’s Awadh Bihari Chaudhary

(Image: Altered by The Quint)

The Grand Alliance and the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) have filed names of the candidates for the post of the Speaker in Bihar Assembly.

The NDA nominated Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP)‘s Vijay Kumar Sinha as their candidate and the Grand Alliance announced RJD MLA Awadh Bihari Chaudhary as its candidate.

The election for the Speaker post will be held on Wednesday, 25 November, reported news agency ANI.

“We will work as per our party’s and NDA’s instructions. We are going to file the nomination for Speaker’s post as per our alliance decision. Opposition and government will work together for the development of Bihar”

Vijay Kumar Sinha told ANI

Meanwhile, RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav said: “We have made the first move. Our candidate filed his nomination papers much before the NDA decided its nominee. I am hopeful that our nominee will win,” reported PTI.

Yadav mentioned that Awadh Bihari Chaudhary is a fifth term MLA, and a member of the House since the 1980s. Yadav also stated that Chaudhary has a strong command over the language.

Yadav said that according to the convention the Opposition’s candidate is appointed as the Deputy Speaker.

“It is true for Assemblies as well as the Lok Sabha. However, in the previous Assembly, we kept making a request for the same but the post was kept vacant,” PTI quoted Tejashwi Yadav as saying.

Meanwhile, Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tarkishore Prasad said that the Opposition should abide by the tradition and support the ruling party’s candidate for the Speaker’s post.

BJP’s Vijay Kumar Sinha was a minister in the previous Nitish Kumar government. For the first time since 2005 the BJP has staked claim to the Speaker’s post.

In the Bihar elections which were announced on 10 November, the BJP won 74 seats and the JD(U) 43.

The winter session of the 243-member Bihar Assembly will continue till 27 November.

(With inputs from ANI and PTI)