Patna, Dec. 2: The 16th Bihar Assembly today unanimously elected Vijay Kumar Choudhary as Speaker in an atmosphere of consensus that was a welcome relief after one of the most bitterly fought elections.
Pro tem Speaker Sadanand Singh declared Choudhary elected as regular Speaker after as many as 11 legislators, from the ruling JDU to the main Opposition BJP, proposed his name for the position and an equal number of legislators seconded it.
Chief minister Nitish Kumar and Leader of Opposition Prem Kumar together escorted Chaudhary to the Speaker's chair amid thumping of desks by the treasury and Opposition benches. All this made Choudhary emotional; his voice choked for a while as fulsome praise were heaped on him by all members, including the chief minister, deputy Tejaswi and the Leader of the Opposition.
A soft-spoken, suave and affable leader with a clean image, Chaudhary has been a legislator for well over three decades. Born to freedom fighter and veteran Congress lawmaker Jagish Chaudhary, Vijay completed his masters in history from Patna University in 1979 and joined the State of Bank of India in Thiruvananthapuram as a probationary officer the same year.
But his father's premature demise in 1982 made Choudhary quit his banking job to contest the by-election on a Congress ticket from Dalsinghsarai - his home seat in north Bihar's Samastipur district. Choudhary won, making his debut as a lawmaker in 1982, three years before Nitish entered the same House from Harnaut in 1985 on a Lok Dal ticket. The Lok Dal was then the main opposition party in the House.
Nitish summed up Choudhary's "all acceptable persona" saying: "When we proposed his (Chaudhary's) name, there was instant consensus. Leaders from all parties were one in approving our move. I remember how Choudhary and I struck a common cause on issues of public interest despite being at two ends of the political divide in the 1980s." Nitish also said that Choudhary's long stint as lawmaker would enable him to lead House proceedings in a commendable manner.
Choudhary emerged a key leader of the Bihar Congress, becoming its general secretary in the late 1990s. In 2005, he crossed over to the JDU. He unsuccessfully contested the Sarairanjan seat that year but won in 2010, becoming a virtual number two in the Nitish-led dispensation, particularly after the JDU and BJP broke up in 2013. He was water resources and parliamentary affairs minister in Nitish's cabinet. Nitish said: "He (Choudhary) won the election on a JDU ticket. But as House custodian he now belongs to both ruling and Opposition parties alike. I, on my behalf and on behalf of my party (JDU) assure Choudhary all cooperation in conducting House proceedings in a just and impartial manner."
Choudhary traced the history of legislative bodies to the 12th century in England and elaborated how rules of legislative business evolved over the centuries. He suggested that legislators - particularly the 98 first-time MLAs - read the Constitution and rules of legislative business and treat the two texts as their dharmasashtra (holy scripture). "I will give you copies of the Constitution and rules of legislative business each and expect you to conduct yourself in accordance with what these texts prescribe," he said.
Earlier, identifying himself with 98 newly-elected lawmakers, deputy chief minister Tejaswi expressed his willingness to learn from Choudhary's experience and Leader of Opposition (Prem) offered his party's full support to Choudhary in conducting House business.
