Sushil Modi or Kameshwar Chaupal? Who Will Be Next Bihar Deputy CM

As per the Bihar election results, Nitish Kumar-led NDA won 125 seats in the 243-member Assembly.

Kameshwar Chaupal could be the first Dalit Deputy CM.

(Photo: Facebook )

The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) is all set to form the new government in Bihar, with Nitish Kumar once again at the helm of the affairs as the chief minister of the state. But the race for the Deputy CM has given way for several speculations. Here’s a list of leaders who are contenders for becoming the next deputy chief minister of Bihar.

Sushil Modi

Although it might seem that the incumbent Deputy CM, Sushil Modi, is leading the race, there have been reports that he might be given a different portfolio and someone else will be made the Deputy CM.

Sushil Modi went to Delhi on Saturday, 14 November, and met with BJP National President JP Nadda, Home Minister Amit Shah and Bihar BJP in-charge Bhupendra Yadav, to talk about the formation of the new government and its potential ministers.

Modi entered politics while he was a student at the Patna University. He was the general secretary of the students’ union there in 1973. Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav was the president of the students’ union at that time. During the Emergency, Modi was jailed for 19 months.

Modi held several positions from 1977 to 1986. In 1990, Sushil Modi was elected MLA for the first time from Kumhar Assembly. He won again in 1995 and 2000, and was the Leader of Opposition in the Bihar Legislative Assembly from 1996 to 2004. In 2004, he won the Lok Sabha elections from Bhagalpur.

Kameshwar Chaupal

Kameshwar Chaupal's name has also appeared in several media reports as Sushil Modi's replacement. Chaupal, who has a strong connection with the Sangh, is also a member of the Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust. In 1989, he laid the foundation stone at the Ram Janmabhoomi in Ayodhya. Chaupal is currently a member of the Legislative Council.

Interestingly, he has never won any elections. In 1991, Chaupal contested from the Rosera Lok Sabha constituency, in which he was defeated by Ram Vilas Paswan. In 1995, he stood from the Bakhri seat of Begusarai district but still lost.

In the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, the BJP pitted him against Ranjeet Ranjan, wife of Pappu Yadav, in Supaul, but he was defeated in this election as well.

Jitan Ram Manjhi

Although Jitan Ram Manjhi has made it clear that he will not accept the post of minister, he still remains one of the biggest names in the NDA. His party Hindustani Awam Morcha has won four assembly seats. Manjhi, himself, won the election from Imamganj.

In 2014, Manjhi was made the chief minister of Bihar after Nitish Kumar resigned from the post because of the Janata Dal (United)‘s (JDU) poor performance in the Lok Sabha elections. Later, when Kumar asked for his post back, Manjhi refused. However, he had to bow down to pressure.

The NDA in Bihar is scheduled to meet on 15 November to choose the leaders for the new government.

(The story was first published in Quint Hindi.)