Ranchi, June 3 : Karia Munda, 72, named Deputy Speaker of the Lok Sabha by his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), has come a long way from being a farmer.The calm-looking and soft-spoken tribal leader from Jharkhand is known for his honesty and simplicity and is accessible to his workers.
Munda was born in a farmer family and loves farming. He has been elected to the Lok Sabha six times from Khuti. He has never changed his constituency. He was central minister in 1977 in the Morarji Desai government. He again became central minister in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government in 2001.
Despite being born in a farmer family, Munda pursued his education up to Master of Arts (MA) in Hindi. He was front runner for chief ministership when Jharkhand was carved out of Bihar in 2000. He was, however, denied the coveted post.
He lost the Lok Sabha election in 2004 and was elected to the state assembly in 2005. He was accorded deputy chief minister rank by then chief minister Arjun Munda.
Whenever he is in Khuti, his home town, Munda prefers farming. His honest image sometimes makes the workers unhappy. According to party leaders, Munda keeps his letterhead with himself so that they are not misused by party workers or close relatives.