After serving as editor in Hindi daily Prabhat Khabar for over 25 years, Harivansh was nominated for Rajya Sabha in 2014 by the Nitish Kumar's JDU (File Photo/ANI)
Janata Dal-United (JDU) MP Harivansh Narayan Singh was elected as Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman on Thursday. Harivansh got 125 votes while Opposition candidate BK Hariprasad could get just 105 votes.
Born on June 30, 1956 in Uttar Pradesh Balia in a middle class family, Harivansh is a post-graduate in Economics from Banaras Hindu University (BHU). Harivansh also has PG Diploma in journalism from BHU. During an interview, Harivansh had revealed that he started his first job on a salary of just Rs 500 per month.
During his college days, Harivansh was influenced b great socialist leader Jayaprakash Narayan (JP). He participated actively in the JP Movement of 1974.
In 1977, Harivansh joined Times of India as a trainee journalist. Later, he moved to Mumbai to work in 'Dharmyug' magazine, which had a huge following during those days. Harivansh worked with 'Dharmyug' till 1981.
From 1981 to 1984, Harivansh worked with Bank of India. He then joined Amrit Bazar Patrika's magazine 'Ravivar' as an assitant editor. He worked there till 1989 after which he was handed over the responsibility of Usha Martin group's struggling newspaper - Prabhat Khabar - in Ranchi.
Soft-spoken Harivansh used all his skills to not only revive Prabhat Khabar but he also launched new editions of the Hindi daily in Jharkhand, Bihar, and West Bengal.
When Chandrashekhar became the Prime Minister in 1990 after VP Singh, Harivansh was roped in as his additional media advisor.
After serving as editor in Prabhat Khabar for over 25 years, Harivansh was nominated for Rajya Sabha in 2014 by the Nitish Kumar's JDU. Interestingly, Harivansh was not even a primary member of the party before he was picked for the Upper House of Parliament.
In one of his columns after being elected as Rajya Sabha member unopposed, Harivansh had talked about the experience of reaching the Parliament without spending a penny. "I got the Rajya Sabha nomination form for Rs 10,000. The amount was refunded after I was elected unopposed. I didn't spent a penny to reach Rajya Sabha...as a journalist, the whole experience has had a certain impact on me," Harivansh had written.
WATCH: Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman election - The number game
