Bihar: JD(U)'s Maheshwar Hazari elected as deputy speaker of Bihar assembly amid boycott by opposition parties

PATNA: Four-time JD(U) MLA and former minister Maheshwar Hazari (58), was on Wednesday elected as deputy speaker of Bihar Vidhan Sabha amid boycott of the house by entire opposition comprising the members of RJD, Congress, CPI-ML, CPI and CPM, protesting against the use of police force against them inside the assembly on Tuesday when they were trying to block the passage of the controversial Bihar Special Armed Police Bill-2021.
RJD MLA Bhudeo Chaudhary had filed nomination as the opposition’s nominee for the deputy speaker post. But neither Chaudhary nor any other members of the opposition parties participated in the process of election. When the election was being conducted inside the House, entire members of the opposition parties were holding, what they called, a “parallel session” in the sprawling lawn of the state legislature after choosing Chuadhary as their speaker.
Hazari secured 124 votes in the 243-member assembly, while Chaudhary nil vote because of the absence of the opposition members. Earlier, state’s parliamentary affairs minister Vijay Kumar Choudhary requested the Speaker to elect the deputy speaker through the process of voting.
Hazari served as the minister of urban development and housing as well as minister of planning and development in CM Nitish Kumar’s previous government.
Cousin of former Union minister late Ram Vilas Paswan, Hazari also won the 2009 Lok Sabha election from Bihar’s Samastipur seat, defeating Ram Vilas’ brother Ram Chandra Paswan. Later in 2014 polls, Ram Chandra won the seat.
Soon after his election, Hazari was congratulated by CM Nitish Kumar, Deputy CM Tarkishore Prasad and some other members of the ruling BJP-JD(U) combine in the house.
While congratulating Hazari, Nitish not only assailed the opposition for demeaning the democracy through their “un-parliamentary acts” but also said the opposition ran away from the election after being aware of the fact that they would be defeated in the contest. The CM said, the opposition members indulged in "undemocratic" action in the house on Tuesday. "What will they gain by doing all these things?” the CM asked.
As the BJP has won larger number of seats (74) within the NDA in the current assembly, the ruling coalition decided to give the post of speaker to the saffron party. The JD(U) won just 43 seats in the last assembly polls. Hence, it was given the post of deputy speaker. In the previous assembly constituted after 2010 polls, when the JD(U) won larger number of seat, the post of speaker was given to JD(U) member Uday Narayan Choudhary and the BJP MLA Amarendra Pratap Singh was elected as deputy speaker. After 2015 assembly polls, JD(U)’s Vijay Choudhary was made speaker though then the RJD had won larger number of seats among the three-party grand alliance.