Patna, In a political career spanning more than three decades, Dr Prem Kumar, a 71-year-old veteran of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), has achieved a rare distinction in Indian electoral history: nine consecutive victories from the same urban constituency. On Monday, he was elected unopposed as Speaker of the Bihar Legislative Assembly, capping a journey that began in the modest by-lanes of Gaya’s Dulhinganj locality.
Born into a lower-middle-class family, Kumar grew up in a small house in Makhlautganj where his father, Shyam Narayan Ram, worked as a Class IV employee at Union Bank and his mother, Lalpari Devi, managed the household. Financial constraints were a constant companion, yet the young Kumar found early ideological grounding in the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). He attended shakhas first at Mahavir High School and later took responsibility for the one at Azad Park.
The defining moment of his early political formation came during the 1974 Jayaprakash Narayan movement against Indira Gandhi’s government. Kumar emerged as one of the most active student leaders in Gaya, a role that led to his arrest under the Defence of India Rules and an eight-month stint in Gaya Central Jail. Released during the Emergency, he went underground to sustain the agitation and strengthen local opposition networks.
When the Janata Party wave swept the country in 1977, Kumar formally joined the BJP’s precursor, the Bharatiya Jana Sangh, and was quickly appointed district general secretary. His organisational skills soon became evident as he built the party’s structure across every block in Gaya district.
His electoral breakthrough arrived in 1990 when the BJP fielded him from Gaya Town, a seat then considered difficult for the party. He defeated the CPI’s Shakeel Ahmad Khan and has not looked back since. Over the next 35 years he vanquished a succession of opponents – from the RJD’s Masood Manzar (three times) to Congress candidates Sanjay Sahay, Priyaranjan “Dimple”, and, in the last two elections, Akhauri Onkar Nath Srivastava. The streak of nine straight wins is unmatched in contemporary Bihar politics.
Colleagues attribute his enduring appeal to disciplined campaigning, meticulous booth management, and an almost monastic personal routine. Before every election, Kumar visits a temple on Swarajpuri Road for prayers – a ritual he has maintained since 1990.
With the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance securing a comfortable majority in the November 2025 assembly polls, Kumar’s elevation to the Speaker’s post was widely anticipated. Senior allies and even opposition members extended cross-party support, paving the way for his unopposed election – a gesture that underscores his reputation for impartiality and organisational loyalty.
From a narrow alley where two-wheelers once struggled to pass, to the highest constitutional office in the state legislature, Prem Kumar’s trajectory exemplifies the transformative potential of perseverance, ideological commitment, and grassroots political craftsmanship in India’s heartland.
