Shahnawaz Hussain takes oath as member of Bihar council

Senior BJP leader Syed ShahnawazHussain and Bihar minister Mukesh Sahni were on Friday swornin as members of the state legislative council.

They were administered the oath of office by ActingChairman of the council Awadhesh Narain Singh.

Several dignitaries, most notable being Chief MinisterNitish Kumar, were present on the occasion.

Both Hussain and Sahni were elected, unopposed, in by-polls necessitated by election of BJP leaders Sushil KumarModi and Binod Narayan Jha to the Rajya Sabha and the assemblyrespectively.

The partys choice of Hussain, a former union minister andmultiple term Lok Sabha member, has generated much curiosityin the political circles here.

Arguably the most notable Muslim face of a party which isoften accused of being biased against the minorities, Hussainis expected to get a ''big responsibility'' in the state whereBJP has outperformed Nitish Kumars JD(U) for the first timebut lacks leaders of stature who can hold their own.

Sushil Modi, who happens to be the tallest BJP leaderfrom Bihar in his generation, recently dropped hints of thepartys strategy behind shifting Hussain to state politics.

''His presence will be of immense help for the partyespecially in the Seemanchal region'', Modi had said referringto the densely populated Muslim-dominated north-eastern partof Bihar.

Hussain had made his debut in 1999 Lok Sabha electionsfrom Kishanganj, which falls in Seemanchal.

The region now stands sharply polarised with the entry ofAsaduddin Owaisis AIMIM which bagged five seats in theassembly elections.