Patna,(BiharTimes): Seven-time Gaya MLA and a prominent EBC face in Bihar unit of the party, Prem Kumar was on Sunday unanimously elected as the leader of opposition in the Bihar Legislative Assembly.

The Winter Session of the House is to start from November 30.

Prem was elected after the leader of opposition in the last Assembly, Nand Kishore Yadav, withdrew his name. He owned moral responsibility for party’s defeat in the recently concluded Assembly election.

Prem Kumar said that he would accept the responsibility entrusted on him by the party leadership.

Preem Kumar’s election is being interpreted as a significant shift in the saffron party’s stand. After a quarter century of domination by the leaders from Patna, the party has entrused responsibility on the elected MLA of Gaya. He is among the oldest legislatures of the party in the House.

Till now both the leader of opposition in the state Assembly and Legislative Council were from Patna.
Not only that, Prem Kumar hails from Kahar community, an Extremely Backward Castes, and was in the race for the post of the chief ministerial candidate of the BJP in the just concluded election.

News started spreading that he would be the CM candidate of the party after he shared dais with the prime minister Narendra Modi on several occasions.

Prem was elected the leader in a meeting of the party legislators held in Maurya Hotel. Those who attended the meeting included Bihar incharge Anant Kumar, Rajya Sabha MP, Bhupendra Yadav and former deputy CM, Sushil Kumar Modi, who is also the leader of the party in the Council.

While withdrawing his name Nand Kishore said that some new faces should be entrusted with the responsibility as he had already served the party in different capacity.

He said he was no more eager to continue after holding this post for two and a half years. He had been the leader in the Assembly ever since the JD(U) snapped ties with the BJP and Nitish Kumar sacked all its 11 ministers on June 16, 2013.

Earlier, he had served as a senior minister in the Nitish cabinet, convenor of the NDA in Bihar and the state BJP chief.