Kavita Singh and (right) chief minister Nitish Kumar at the Bihar Legislative Assembly in Patna on Monday. Picture by Nagendra Kumar Singh

Patna, Oct. 24: Kavita Singh looked more a new bride in her pink, embroidered sari and gold ornaments rather than a newly elected MLA as she reached the Assembly to take oath as the Doranda MLA today.

But as soon as Speaker Uday Narain Choudhary administered the oath on her, the 26-year-old JD(U) MLA touched the feet of chief minister Nitish Kumar and his deputy, Sushil Modi, and made her priorities as a politician clear. “Nitishji ne mujhe muh dikhai ka taufa diya hai (It’s a wedding gift from Nitish). I will give my blood and sweat for the development work initiated by Nitishji,” said Kavita, who won the recent Doranda bypoll that was necessitated by the death of her legislator mother-in-law Jagmato Devi.

Kavita, who reached the Assembly at 9.50am looked cheerful with husband Ajay Singh by her side. She impressed the visitors with her gold ornaments — six rings, pink fancy bangles, jhumkas and a nose ring. As a woman who got married very recently, she did not forget to wear the mangalsutra — a gold chain and a gold locket — that added more dazzle to her attire. Kavita and Ajay, who is facing a number of criminal charges, got married during Pitripaksh, a period that the Hindus consider inauspicious for weddings. But Kavita, who is pursuing a postgraduation degree, has a different view. “I do not think that getting married during Pitripaksh is inauspicious. Besides, we got married on Vishwakarma Puja. Vishwakarma is considered the creator of this world. So why should one think that our marriage was held on an inauspicious day?”

With her head covered in a ghoonghat and the colours of mehendi still shinning on both her hands, Kavita said, “ The death of my mother-in-law still makes me sad. She wanted to make Doranda a nice place for its residents. I may not be like her, but I will try to fulfil her dream,” she told The Telegraph.

Besides announcing her plans for Doranda, the newly elected MLA tried to utilise the occasion to defend her husband, who has been named accused in a number of kidnapping and extortion cases. “Many people say he is a don. But I believe he is nice human being and helps others.”