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After snub by Bihar Cong-RJD grand alliance, CPI declares Kanhaiya Kumar as Begusarai candidate

Patna: After being snubbed by the Congress-RJD grand alliance in Bihar, former JNU student leader Kanhaiya Kumar is set to contest from Begusarai constituency, CPI said. The Communist Party of India (CPI) Bihar secretary Satyanarayan Singh said the decision was taken by the party's executive community in a meeting Sunday.

Kanhaiya is expected to be the joint candidate of Left parties from the seat.

The prominent face of Left politics, Kanhaiya, is pitted in a three-way match with NDA’s Giriraj Singh and RJD’s potential leader from the constituency Tanveer Hassan.  Kanhaiya hails from Bhita village, Tanveer, who is an RJD MLC is from Balia Lakhminia village of the district. Giriraj is from Barahiya village of Lakhisarai district.

The seat which fell in RJD’s share – a bastion of Left politics –is best suited for a Muslim candidate, believed the Tejashwi Yadav’s party and instead fielded Hassan who lost to BJP’s Bhola Singh by a margin of 60,000 votes.

Grand Alliance insiders also speak of RJD’s Delhi JNU cohorts who believe their influence will reduce in Delhi’s left circles if Kanhaiya rises to become a parliamentarian. There were several other factors too due to which RJD chose to fell back on Kanhaiya’s candidature and the decision was taken after considerable thought.

The Communist Party of India (CPI) had earlier this month suggested it would not accept less than 3-4 seats in the alliance –neither CPI nor CPI(M) weren’t given any.  “They betrayed us,” CPI secretary Satyanarayan Singh said.  

Under the seat-sharing formula, Lalu Prasad Yadav’s Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) will field candidates in 20 constituencies, Congress on 9, Jitan Ram Manji’s HAM-S on three seats, Vikasheel Insaaf Party got three and CPI-ML one from RJD’s quota. 

The former JNU leader shot to fame in 2016 and was later arrested on sedition charges for raising anti-India slogans. Kanhaiya along with comrades Shehla Rashid and Umar Khalid emerged as the faces of Left-wing politics in the country.

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