Former PM’s favourite, journalist first — Harivansh Singh re-elected Rajya Sabha Dy Chairman

The JD(U) leader is credited for making Prabhat Khabar one of the most widely read Hindi papers in north India. PM Modi congratulated him, saying he ‘belongs to all aisles of the House’.

New Delhi: A traditional Lohiaite, “meticulous” field journalist, and an unassuming politician — NDA’s Harivansh Narayan Singh was elected as the Rajya Sabha deputy chairman, for a second consecutive term, Monday by a voice vote. 

Congratulating the JD(U) leader, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was present in the Rajya Sabha, said: “He is an outstanding umpire and belongs to all aisles of the House.”

He added, “The respect I hold for Harivansh ji is shared by each member of the House. He has earned this respect. His unbiased role in the Parliament strengthens our democracy… After becoming an MP, Harivansh ji has always ensured how all MPs can become more dutiful. The journalist inside him has stayed alive.”

This would be Singh’s second term as the deputy chairman — he was first elected in August 2018 and his tenure expired in April this year. 

Born in Uttar Pradesh’s Balia in 1956, Singh has spent over four decades as a Hindi journalist — working across Maharashtra, Jharkhand, Bihar and West Bengal.

It was in 2014 that Singh caught Bihar Chief Minister and JD(U) chief Nitish Kumar’s attention, who decided to nominate him to the Rajya Sabha as the party’s candidate.

Despite enjoying goodwill across party lines in the Upper House, Singh is still seen by his closest confidantes and aides as a “journalist first”, who “isn’t quite sure” how he became a late-career politician.

“He often laughs about how he has ended up in politics. He says this is destiny’s play and his ‘dori’ is in someone else’s hand,” Qurban Ali, a veteran journalist, told ThePrint. 

Ali was Singh’s colleague at the Times group-owned Dharmyug magazine in Mumbai back in the late 1970s — the beginning of both their careers.

Pro-people, anti-establishment journalist

Prior to joining Dharmyug, Singh completed his Masters in Economics from the Banaras Hindu University (BHU). It is here that he developed a great affinity to the Lohiate-brand of socialism, and also became an active proponent of the JP-movement.

After Dharmyug, he spent some years in Kolkata, working in the editorial team of the ‘Ravivar’ weekly magazine, and finally in 1989 he joined the Ranchi-based Prabhat Khabar — a newspaper he is credited for single-handedly making one of the most widely read Hindi papers in north India.

“The paper was in dire straits until then. But after a management shift took place, and he was brought in, Prabhat Khabar hasn’t looked back. He trained young people, was futuristic in his approach, and made sure people’s concerns were echoed in the paper,” Anuj Sinha, the executive editor of Prabhat Khabar, told ThePrint. 

Sinha, who has been associated with the paper before Singh joined, credits him for “changing the face of the paper”.

“We were just based out of Ranchi, but his (Singh’s) changes made sure we start printing in 10 regions across 3 states. From 800 to now nearly 8 lakh papers — our circulation has increased manifold,” Sinha said.

Singh tried to make Prabhat Khabar a “pro-people” and anti-establishment paper — one that consistently exposed scams and corruptions, said Sinha.

A ‘no-nonsense man’

From adopting an anti-establishment stance to now becoming a part of the ruling party’s establishment in Bihar — Singh’s journey has been quite intriguing.

But politicians close to him say that his personal politics and ideology are ‘independent’ of the party he belongs to.

“There is a thin line that separates journalism and politics. But I believe one can still be pro-people after joining a party. I am sure, he (Singh) continues to express his disagreements, his criticism, his solutions in the party as well,” said Saryu Roy, former BJP leader and now an independent MLA from Jamshedpur.

Roy said he has known Singh personally since the late 1970s as a “methodological”, “no-nonsense” man.

“He has always been a simple, diligent person,” added Roy, who defeated former Jharkhand CM Raghubar Das from the Jamshedpur East seat in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

Singh’s colleagues at JD(U) share similar sentiments about him.

“He belies the image we have in our minds of a typical politician. He is a very straightforward, grounded man. In the Rajya Sabha too, he made sure he takes everyone together and is considerate towards all,” JD(U) spokesperson Sanjay Singh said. 

Chandra Shekhar’s ‘favourite’

In 1990, after the Janata Dal came to power momentarily, Singh served as the media advisor to then Prime Minister Chandra Shekhar. But after the government fell in around 6 months, Singh’s stint ended too.

“They had met a few times in Singh’s young days when Chandra Shekhar visited Balia. Years later, when he became PM, he remembered their meetings. From then to now, Singh has always caught the attention of senior leaders across party lines,” Sinha said.

While Singh went back to journalism after this, he continued to write about Chandra Shekhar, and became a close expert on his life and politics.

On his first day as the Rajya Sabha deputy chairman in August 2018, Singh’s walkover-election became a subject of humour in the Upper House.

“There were ‘Haris’ at both sides, but I hope that with Harivansh Narayan Singh’s win, Rajya Sabha will have harikripa,” PM Modi had said, referring to Singh’s easy victory against Congress candidate B.K. Hariprasad.

Not just that, Modi had also called Singh a “favourite” of former PM Chandra Shekhar.

“He has been blessed with the talent of writing. He was also a favourite of former PM Chandra Shekhar ji,” he had said.

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