Will Kanhaiya Kumar make it from Begusarai?

If the CPI pitches former president of JNUSU Kanhaiya Kumar in 2019 Lok Sabha election from Begusarai in Bihar, his victory prospect diminishes somewhat without the support of the Mahagathbandhan.

The final call on whether Kanhaiya Kumar will contest or not will be taken by the Bihar unit of the CPI on Sunday. 

Leaders of the grand alliance addressed the media in Patna on Friday and declared that RJD will contest 20 of the 40 parliamentary constituencies in the state, while the Congress will contest nine.

The remaining seats were given to their regional allies.

Thus, if Kanhaiya enters the fray, there will be a clear division of opposition votes. This will benefit Union Minister Giriraj Singh, who is said to have been asked to contest from Begusarai, instead of his Nawada Lok Sabha seat this time.

Begusarai Lok Sabha constituency, which is also Kanhaiya’s hometown, has pockets of dedicated Left voters.

Earlier, in order to make Kanhaiya a consensus candidate, sources say CPI national secretary D Raja held parleys with RJD supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav in Ranchi; and with Rajya Sabha MP Manoj Jha in Delhi. It seems now that the Left leader’s pleas were largely ignored.

Lalu’s son and current boss of RJD, Tejaswi Yadav, is said to be unhappy with Kanhaiya and has exhibited this in various ways. Insiders say that the younger Yadav wants his party’s Tanveer Hasan to be the alliance candidate from Begusarai. Hasan lost by about 58,000 votes in 2014.

Hasan is a Lalu-family loyalist and a popular face in Begusarai while Kanhaiya also has acceptability in his home town, has oratory power and is hailed as a hero.