Bihar is witnessing another power change with Nitish Kumar rejoining hands with the RJD-led Mahagathbandhan after dumping the NDA. Kumar and Tejashwi Yadav staked claim to form a new government and the former is likely to take oath as the chief minister of Bihar on Wednesday, with Yadav being his deputy.
The Governor presiding over the power shift is Phagu Chauhan who was brought in as a replacement for Lalji Tandon in July 2019.
71-year-old Chauhan, elected as the 40th Governor of Bihar, is a leader of the Lonia community and is believed to have been thoughtfully chosen by the BJP’s central leadership.
As the BJP tried to reduce its dependence on Nitish Kumar’s JD(U), eyeing to go it alone in the 2025 Bihar Assembly polls, the party cleverly placed Chauhan as the Speaker to woo the OBC group, which accounts for a major electoral population in the state.
Hailing from Uttar Pradesh, Chauhan is a six-time MLA from Ghosi in Mau district. He won the first Assembly election in 1985 on the symbol of the Dalit Mazdoor Kisan Party. In 1991, he returned as an MLA on a Janata Dal ticket, then retained the seat in 1996 and 2002 on the BJP symbol.
Then, Chauhan moved to the BSP, and won from Ghosi again in 2007. For the sixth time, in 2017, he contested on a BJP ticket, and won.
In the UP Assembly polls earlier this year, Chauhan’s son Ram Vilas Chauhan won from the Madhuban seat on a BJP ticket.
Chauhan’s tenure as Speaker went smooth till late last year until reports of differences between him and Nitish Kumar over steps to be taken on corruption charges levelled against some vice-chancellors started doing rounds. Reports suggest that Kumar was pressing for stricter action against V-Cs.
Chauhan met Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and sought a report by the Special Vigilance Unit (SVU) on raids on the premises of Magadh University Vice-Chancellor.
In February this year, he suspended 12 assistant professors, along with principal of Rajendra College in Chhapra for dancing to Bollywood tunes with students.
