Senior Janata Dal (United) leader and veteran academician Ram Bachan Rai on Monday took over as Chairman of the Bihar Legislative Council following the resignation of BJP leader Awadhesh Narain Singh.

The leadership change reflects the established power-sharing arrangement between coalition partners BJP and JD(U), under which the Assembly Speaker’s post goes to the BJP while the position of Legislative Council Chairman remains with the JD(U). Senior BJP leader Prem Kumar currently serves as the Speaker of the Bihar Legislative Assembly.

Rai, who had been serving as Deputy Chairperson of the Legislative Council since July 2024, has now taken charge as its presiding officer.

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Speaking to reporters, Rai said: “I am happy with the responsibility given to me. I have always believed in not having any expectations for a post, but rather focusing on whatever task my party assigns to me.”

Outgoing BJP leader Awadhesh Narain Singh said: “I am very happy that the Council Chairman post is going to a person of such high standing.”

A prominent figure in Bihar’s literary and political landscape, Rai brings decades of academic and legislative experience to the role. A former Professor and Head of the Department of Hindi at Patna University, he is widely recognised for his work as a literary critic and scholar.

Rai, whose political roots trace back to the 1974 Jayaprakash Narayan (JP) Movement, first entered the Upper House as an MLC in 2004. Formerly part of the RJD’s intellectual core, he joined the JD(U) in July 2011. Nominated to the Legislative Council under the Governor’s quota in March 2021 for a term running through March 2027, he was subsequently elected unopposed as Deputy Chairperson in July 2024.

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A senior JD(U) leader said: “We had been demanding Council chairman position for sometime now. After all, we are a strong and almost equal ally with 85 seats as against BJP’s 89 seats in Assembly”.

BJP state vice-president Santosh Pathak told : “The Council Chairman post goes to the JD(U) as per NDA coordination. Since we hold the Speaker’s post in the Assembly, the Council position goes to the JD(U). There should be no dispute over it.”