Giriraj Singh's 'self-respect' is hurt after BJP decides to field him from Begusarai, not Nawada, in Bihar

Patna: Bharatiya Janata Party leader Giriraj Singh has claimed that he is unhappy and “hurt” by the treatment meted out to him by the party leadership after the sitting Member of Parliament from Bihar’s Nawada constituency was fielded from Begusarai Lok Sabha seat for the upcoming 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

The Union Minister of State for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises said the decision to field him from Begusarai was not taken in consultation with him and questioned the state cadre for not taking his requests into consideration.

“My self-respect is hurt that no other MP’s seat was changed in Bihar. It was decided without talking to me. The state BJP leadership should tell me why was it done. I have nothing against Begusarai but I can’t compromise my self-respect,” Singh said.

Singh said that state BJP president Nityanand Rai and fellow MP from Bihar’s Jamui constituency, Chirag Paswan, “assured” him a “seat of his choice”.

“I was hoping to contest from Begusarai in 1996 and 2014 but the party leadership said Bhola Singh wants to contest from Begusarai. I was fielded from Nawada (then),” he said, adding that he worked very hard for the welfare of the people of Nawada.

Former Jawaharlal Nehru University student leader Kanhaiya Kumar is set to contest from Begusarai against Singh, Communist Party of India (CPI)-Bihar secretary Satyanarayan Singh said on Sunday and added that Kanhaiya is expected to be the joint candidate of Left parties from the seat.

A prominent face of Left politics, Kanhaiya is pitted in a three-way contest with Singh and Rashtriya Janata Dal’s potential leader from the constituency Tanveer Hassan.

Following Singh's comment, Kanhaiya also took a dig at the BJP leader and said that "the person who speaks of sending people to Pakistan got hurt when he was sent from Nawada to Begusarai".

The highly-anticipated 2019 Lok Sabha elections are just around the corner. While the Bharatiya Janata Party will look to consolidate their reign at the Centre for a consecutive second term as part of the National Democratic Alliance, the Congress party would aim to bounce back after their abysmal performance in 2014 after holding two terms in the government.

The National Democratic Alliance had formed the government in 2014 with 336 seats in the Lok Sabha after the BJP secured an absolute majority by winning 282 seats out of the total 545 (2 nominated). The Congress party was humbled after 10 years in power, won a measly 44 seats.

However, tables have turned for the Congress in the past five years, with Congress president Rahul Gandhi taking over as the head of the grand old party and spearheading the Opposition’s campaigns.

The general elections will be held in seven phases from April 11 to May 19 for 543 Lok Sabha seats across the country. Counting will be done on May 23.