Karia Munda comes a long way

Veteran BJP MP and tribal leader Karia Munda, whose several attempts to become chief minister of Jharkhand failed, has come a long way with the party naming him as its candidate for the post of Deputy Speaker of the Lok Sabha.

Veteran BJP MP and tribal leader Karia Munda, whose several attempts to become chief minister of Jharkhand failed, has come a long way with the party naming him as its candidate for the post of Deputy Speaker of the Lok Sabha.

HT Image

Munda, 72, won the Lok Sabha elections recently for the sixth time from Khunti in Jharkhand. He was a minister in the Morarji Desai government and in 2001, he became a cabinet minister in the NDA government headed by Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

He started his political career as an MLA in the Bihar assembly and was also an MLA in Jharkhand for one term.

Munda, who was member of the Lok Sabha most of the time, could not become chief minister of Jharkhand.

In 2000, Munda's supporters raised a banner of revolt demanding that he be made the chief minister. Though this wish was not fulfilled, Vajpayee inducted him in his government in 2001.

A post-graduate from Ranchi University, Munda commands respect as an educated and well-read person in Jharkhand.