Bhojpuri's maiden entry in Assembly

NEW DELHI: Bhojpuri made its maiden entry in the Assembly on Thursday with Nasirpur MLA Mahabal Mishra taking oath in the dialect. Mishra, a second-time Congress MLA who wears his Bihari identity with pride, signalled the arrival of the Poorvanchali or eastern voter in Delhi politics.
Poorvanchali voters, mainly concentrated in east and outer Delhi, are reportedly crucial in 30 out of 70 constituencies.Both political parties tried hard to woo this vote bank. The BJP had gone as far as celebrating the Bihari festival of Chhatth to show their solidarity with the community.
The MLAs took the oath in six different languages in the first session of the new Assembly. While Delhi CM Sheila Dikshit took the oath in English, Tourism Minister Arvinder Singh Lovely opted for Punjabi, Food and supplies Minister R K Chauhan spoke in Hindi and Transport Minister Haroon Yusuf in Urdu. Health Minister Yoganand Shastri stuck to Sanskrit.
Among the opposition, BJP MLA Harshvardhan took the oath in Sanskrit and his colleague Harsharan Singh Balli in Punjabi. Mishra was the only one to bring in Bhojpuri. Punjabi and Urdu had been granted official status by the Delhi government, just before the 2003 Assembly poll. In all, 66 MLAs took oath of office in the House.
Congress MLAs Ram Babu Sharma and Subhash Chopra were not present, while Delhi BJP chief Madan Lal Khurana had resigned his Assembly seat on Wednesday. The pro-term speaker Choudhary Prem Singh was administered the oath by the Lieutenant-Governor Vijai Kapoor at Raj Niwas.