Shahnawaz Hussain, Sahni elected unopposed to Bihar legislative council

BJP leader Syed Shahnawaz Hussain

and Bihar minister Mukesh Sahni were on Thursday declared elected unopposed to the Bihar legislative council, an official said here.

Hussain and Sahni were handed over their certificates by Patna Divisional Commissioner Sanjay Agarwal, who had been designated as the returning officer for by-elections to the two seats.

Hussain has been elected on the seat vacated by former Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi, the term of which expires in 2024.

Modi has been elected to the Rajya Sabha from the seat which fell vacant upon the death of Union minister Ram Vilas Paswan.

Sahni, the founding president of NDA partner Vikassheel Insaan Party, has been elected from the seat vacated by former minister and BJP leader Binod Narayan Jha, who is now a member of the assembly.

Both Hussain, who has been in politics for more than 20 years, and Sahni who is a greenhorn, have made their debut in the state legislature.

Hussain, who is one of the national spokespersons of the BJP, had burst on the political scene in 1999 Lok Sabha polls when he wrested Muslim-dominated Kishanganj seat from RJD strongman Taslimuddin.

He earned a berth in the Union council of ministers headed by Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

He lost Kishanganj five years later, but got re-elected to the Lok Sabha from Bhagalpur in a by-election necessitated by resignation of Sushil Kumar Modi who took up the new assignment in Bihar after the NDA grabbed power in the state.

Speculations are rife that Hussain may be in for a key assignment in the state cabinet headed by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar who has hinted that an expansion would take place shortly.