Who is the Bihar Governor? Low-Profile Phagu Chauhan in the Spotlight as BJP vs RJD Headed to Photo Finish

“Who is the governor of Bihar?” Social media is abuzz with the question as trends from the Bihar assembly election results show a neck-and-neck fight between the BJP and the RJD. The task of inviting a party to form the government falls to the Governor and has become a controversial issue following political controversies in Karnataka and Maharashtra.

While convention dictates that the single-largest party is invited first by the governor, in recent times, governors have called parties that are likely to have the numbers for a floor test.

In Bihar, the spotlight falls on 71-year-old Phagu Chauhan, the 40th Governor of the state whose political career spans several years, marked by victories on BJP, BSP, Janata Dal tickets.

A seasoned politician, an agriculturist and a prominent backward face, Chauhan was born in Azamgarh, Uttar Pradesh, and has seven children.

He has been a six-time MLA from the Ghosi constituency in UP’s Mau district, and had resigned from the Assembly after his appointment as the Bihar governor.

Chauhan had won his first election in 1985 on a Dalit Mazdoor Kisan Party (DMKP) symbol. In 1991, he has successfully contested on a Janata Dal ticket, while the next two elections — 1996 and 2002 – he emerged victorious on a BJP ticket. In 2007, he won on a Bahujan Samaj Party ticket, while in 2017, he emerged victorious again from Ghosi.

Questions regarding the governor have been doing the rounds as most exit polls had predicted a hung house in Bihar. Also, in earlier Assembly elections held in Goa, Manipur, Maharashtra and Rajasthan, the role of governors had been questioned by many as the saffron camp had come to power despite not having the required numbers. With allegations of partisanship being levelled against them, all eyes are now on Bihar’s Raj Bhavan.

The Election Commission said earlier in the day that counting of votes will take longer than usual and continue till late in the night because of 63 per cent increase in the number of EVMs.

So far, the National Democratic Alliance is leading the race with the BJP overtaking Tejashwi Yadav’s RJD as the single-largest party.

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