india

Updated: May 31, 2019 17:33 IST

Born in Bihar’s Lakhisarai district, 66-year-old Giriraj Singh won the 2019 Lok Sabha elections from Bihar’s Begusarai by defeating Jawaharlal Nehru University Students Union’s (JNUSU) former president and Communist Party of India (CPI) candidate Kanhaiya Kumar by over 420,000 votes.

He first became a member of Parliament in 2014 from Nawada and was appointed the minister of state (independent charge) for micro, small and medium enterprises in the first Narendra Modi government.

When Janata Dal (United) chief Nitish Kumar walked out of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) over Modi’s prime ministerial candidature candidate in 2013, Giriraj was among the 11 ministers that were dropped from the Bihar cabinet.

Singh triggered a political controversy on April 18, 2014 when he said during a public address that those opposing Modi have no place in India and should instead move to Pakistan. In October-November 2016, he was embroiled in another controversy when he urged Hindus to produce more children to increase their population.

During the Lok Sabha campaign, the Election Commission issued Singh a notice for allegedly seeking votes on communal lines. He had said those who couldn’t chant Vande Mataram would never be forgiven by Indians.