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Who is Shreyasi Singh? Sharpshooter-politician inducted into new Bihar cabinet?
Shreyasi Singh defeated rival candidate, Rashtriya Janata Dal's Shamshad Alam, by a margin of over 54,000 votes.
Bharatiya Janata Party's candidate and sitting MLA from the Jamui constituency in Bihar, Shreyasi Singh was took oath on Thursday as a minister in chief minister Nitish Kumar's cabinet.
Singh, who had made her electoral debut in 2020, defeated rival candidate, Rashtriya Janata Dal's Shamshad Alam by a margin of over 54,000 votes in the recently concluded Assembly elections in Bihar.
With the NDA government formation in Bihar, Nitish Kumar took oath as the chief minister of the state for a record 10th time. The NDA registered a historic victory in the polls, bagging 202 seats in the 243-member Bihar Assembly.
The BJP emerged as the single largest party with 89 seats, followed closely by Nitish Kumar's Janata Dal (United) with 85 seats.
Who is Shreyasi Singh? Newly inducted minister in Bihar cabinet
Singh is an athlete, and an Arjun-award-winning sharpshooter. Her connection to politics began with her father, late union minister Digvijay Singh and mother, former MP Putul Kumari.
She had, in 2020, joined the BJP and went on to defeat the RJD's Vijay Prakash Yadav by a staggering margin of 41,049 votes to win the Jamui constituency. Her second consecutive victory, by a higher vote margin this time, has consolidated the BJP’s presence in the region.
Follow live updates of the Bihar govt formation here
The newly-inducted minister had an illustrious sporting career before she stepped into the political arena, having won the Gold at the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, Australia.
Prior to this, she also participated at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland in 2014 and secured a Silver medal. She was also part of the 2013 Trap Shooting World Cup held in Mexico's Acapulco.
Defence minister Rajnath Singh, who campaigned for Shreyasi in the lead up to the voting for the Bihar Assembly elections, said that she had already won a “gold” for the country and would now bring “gold” to Jamui in the form of development. He further said that Shreyasi would become the “voice of Jamui and Bihar.”
