New Delhi: Left’s new poster boy and JNU Students’ Union’s former president Kanhaiya Kumar will take on the BJP’s Giriraj Singh from Begusarai in an epic clash in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.
Kanhaiya will contest the seat on a CPI ticket. It remains to be seen whether his rabble-rousing speech will help him gain popular support in the constituency. Begusarai – often called as the Leningrad of Bihar – is the ground zero of Left politics in Bihar.
During the 2014 elections, the CPI had polled 17 per cent of votes from this constituency. According to political observers, the CPI stands a good chance of capturing this seat with Kanhaiya. However, some reports also suggest that voters might be more inclined towards Giriraj.
The seat is also considered safe for a Muslim candidate – the reason why the Mahagathbandhan denied Kanhaiya the ticket. The RJD is instead planning to field Tanvir Hasan, who lost in 2014 by a margin of 60,000 votes. In 2009, Janata Dal United candidate Monazir Hasan won the seat.
Kanhaiya’s nomination marks the student leader’s entry into electoral politics. The decision to nominate him was taken by the Left on Saturday, a day after he was left out of the Opposition coalition in Bihar. Kanhaiya has been extensively campaigning in the region and had also declared his candidature from the constituency in his individual capacity.
