By Ananya Sharma 
Patna, November 20: The morning at Raj Bhavan had that slow, slightly crowded energy that usually comes with a swearing in. People are craning their necks. Leaders murmured among themselves. Security staff doing their best to pretend everything is normal. In the middle of all that, Shreyasi Singh walked up to take oath as a minister in Nitish Kumar’s new cabinet, and a few heads lifted just a little higher. Maybe it was curiosity, maybe admiration, maybe both.
It is not every day that a Commonwealth Games gold medalist slides into a minister’s seat in Bihar. And certainly not someone from Gidhaur in Jamui, a place that has sent leaders to Parliament, yes, but not many who first made their name by hitting flying clay targets with astonishing calm.
A Childhood Surrounded By Politics, But A Life Pulled Elsewhere
People often forget she came from a household where politics was practically the wallpaper. Her father, Digvijay Singh, served as a Union Minister, something Hindustan Times has written about more than once. Her mother, Putul Kumari, has been a Member of Parliament, as noted in Wikipedia. So yes, Shreyasi saw public life from up close, the calls, the meetings, the long drives to constituencies.
Still, the way those who know her tell it, she never looked dazzled by any of it. She was more interested in practice sessions than political ones. LiveHindustan lists her birthdate as 29 August 1991, but the more interesting part is how early she gravitated to sport. Shooting ranges became her real classrooms. Mint reported she later finished an MBA at Manav Rachna International Institute of Research and Studies, but by then she had already lived through the full grind of competitive shooting.
The Athlete Who Always Looked Like She Had Another Gear
Her event, the double trap, demands a strange combination of nerve and rhythm. Two targets. A fraction of a second. A decision that must be exact or the round is lost. Wikipedia calls it a specialisation. Those around her say it was more like an obsession.
The first time Bihar really noticed her was after the 2014 Commonwealth Games, when she won a silver medal in Glasgow. Mint covered that moment with some detail, but the medal didn’t turn her into a star overnight. That happened four years later in Gold Coast, when she shot her way to gold, a moment Hindustan Times described with the sort of pride usually reserved for cricket victories.
Then came the Arjuna Award, reported by The Statesman, sealing her place among India’s sporting elite. Even then, she carried herself like someone still focused on the next competition.
Her Step Into Politics Wasn’t Sudden. It Looked Almost Predictable In Hindsight
By 2020, the BJP had started looking for younger faces, and Shreyasi fit the bill. She joined the party that year. Hindustan Times framed it as a mix of timing and opportunity.
Jamui embraced her quickly. Maybe it was the family name, maybe the medals, or maybe the fact that she showed up and listened. Whatever it was, she won the 2020 Assembly election, something Mint underlined when profiling her afterward.
The rematch in 2025 was even more decisive. A win by over 54000 votes, as Hindustan Times reported, isn’t a narrow endorsement. It is a statement from voters who expect to see their representative move beyond photo opportunities.
Today’s Cabinet Oath And What It Says About Bihar Right Now
This new NDA government needed fresh legs. It also needed faces that can appeal to younger voters without stirring old rivalries. Her induction fits that pattern neatly. The Statesman mentioned that her name had been circulating even before the final results arrived.
India Today pointed out that she is one of just three women ministers in Nitish Kumar’s team, the others being Rama Nishad and Leshi Singh. That number is small, but the symbolism matters. Bihar’s political space hasn’t always felt designed for women to climb this far. Her presence shifts that balance a little.
Inside The BJP, Her Appointment Makes Practical Sense
OneIndia covered the party’s thinking quite clearly. The BJP has been trying to push forward a newer leadership template, one built around achievement and relatability rather than old guard calculations. Shreyasi fits that mould better than most.
She has the poise of someone who has stood under pressure before, but not the stale political rhythms that usually come with long stints in party corridors.
Her Rise Tells A Larger Story About The State’s Changing Mood
Bihar’s politics rarely moves fast, but it does move. And the rise of a woman who carved her identity outside the political world hints at what voters are increasingly willing to allow. She is not the typical inheritor of a political legacy, nor is she an outsider parachuted in. She is something in between, a category that Bihar hasn’t had many examples of.
News24Online’s profile called her the Golden Girl of Bihar, and while such phrasing usually feels too dramatic, it captures the way many young women in the state see her.
The Real Tests Start Now
The oath ceremony is the easy part. The portfolio will decide the rest. Whether she gets sports, youth affairs or something entirely different, she’ll have to move from the precision of sport to the messy pace of governance. Nothing in administration waits patiently.
But the people who watched her shoot say she has always been good at shutting out noise. Her challenge now is to listen to the right voices at the right time without getting lost in the ones that shout the loudest.
A Moment That Feels Honest, Earned And Slightly Unusual In The Best Way
Her induction isn’t just a headline to scroll past. It says something about Bihar leaning, however cautiously, toward a different kind of leadership. It offers a story for young athletes who think their victories end when the medals stop coming. And it gives Jamui a representative whose journey has already defied the usual narrative.
Whether she translates all that into effective governance is a question for another day. But this morning, in Patna, she looked like she understood the weight of the moment. And she carried it without flinching.
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- Ananya Sharmahttps://hindustanherald.in/author/ananya/
- Ananya Sharmahttps://hindustanherald.in/author/ananya/
- Ananya Sharmahttps://hindustanherald.in/author/ananya/
- Ananya Sharmahttps://hindustanherald.in/author/ananya/
