Shreyasi Singh: From ace shooter to Bihar minister

Patna, Nov 20 (PTI) Seven years after winning a gold medal at the Commonwealth Games, ace shooter Shreyasi Singh took many by surprise when she was sworn in as a minister in the newly formed Nitish Kumar government on Thursday.

She was administered the oath of office by Governor Arif Mohammad Khan during a programme at Gandhi Maidan here.

Shreyasi, a Delhi University graduate, won the Jamui assembly seat on a BJP ticket in her electoral debut in 2020 and retained the seat this time, defeating her nearest RJD rival Mohd Shamshad Alam by a margin of 54,498 votes.

She won gold in shooting at the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, Australia, in women's double trap and a silver medal at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland.

However, politics runs in her family. Her late father Digvijay Singh had served as a minister in the Union governments headed by Chandra Shekhar and Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

In 2010, her mother Putul Kumari had retained the Banka Lok Sabha seat while contesting as an Independent in the bypoll necessitated by her husband’s death.

However, in 2014, despite the Narendra Modi wave in Bihar, she lost the seat to the RJD.

Five years later, when the BJP ceded the constituency to Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s JD(U), many believed the family’s political fortunes had dimmed.

However, the perception changed in 2020 when Shreyasi won the Jamui assembly segment in her maiden attempt.

Bihar's longest-serving Chief Minister Nitish Kumar was on Thursday sworn in for a record 10th term here at a grand ceremony, attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, CMs of several NDA-ruled states, and senior alliance leaders.

Along with 74-year-old Kumar, 26 ministers took the oath of office: 14 from the Bharatiya Janata Party, eight from Janata Dal (United), two from Lok Jan Shakti Party (Ram Vilas), and one each from Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) and Rashtriya Lok Morcha (RLM).

The five-party alliance, NDA, had swept the Bihar polls, winning 202 seats in the 243-member assembly. PTI NAC PKD MNB BDC