NEW DELHI: BJP leader Union Minister Giriraj Singh apparently left sulking after the Bihar’s Nawada Lok Sabha seat went to NDA ally LJP.
The Union Minister of State for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises has be vocal about his desire to contest from Nawada, a seat which he won in 2014. However, BJP has decided to field him from Begusarai Lok Sabha constituency.
Sulking Giriraj still in Delhi
Its been three days after the party named him as its candidate for the Begusarai Lok Sabha seat but the BJP leader, best known for attacking critics Modi and the BJP with his repeated threats of ‘send them to Pakistan’ remarks is still in New Delhi, miffed over being denied ticket and is showing “reluctance” to contest.
Singh’s accused state BJP
Singh speaking to the media on Monday accused the Bihar BJP leadership of letting him down by “violating” his self-respect by denying him a ticket from Nawada (Bihar) Lok Sabha constituency.
“It has come as a big jolt that Giriraj send-them-to-Pak Singh sulks over Bihar seat change: Done in by my own party state BJP leadership, which has not displaced any sitting MP in Bihar, did not even ask me (before changing his seat). My self-respect has been hurt. I have nothing against the (BJP) central leadership. The jolt to my honour and hurt to my self-respect has been inflicted by the state leadership,” Singh told The Indian Express.
He still has to make up his mind to contest or not to contest the Begusarai seat.
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Singh further claimed that he was assured of a ticket from a “seat of his choice” by Chirag Paswan and Bihar BJP chief Nityanand Rai.
“Chirag Paswan told me that I can contest from whichever seat I want. Nityanand Rai also said it. Chirag Paswan even said that I didn’t take it (Nawada seat). NDA gave it to me. This hurt me even more,” the BJP leader said.
Caste Election
Begusarai, which is dominated by the Bhumihar caste to which Giriraj belongs accounts for 3-4 per cent of the state population and constitute about 19 per cent voters followed by Muslim (15 per cent), Yadav (12 per cent) and Kurmi (seven per cent) of the total 19 lakh votes.
The community, is believed to be the most vocal and assertive among all the upper caste groups in Bihar plays a key role in deciding fortunes in a few constituencies like Begusarai, Nawada and Jehanabad.
Bhola Singh had contest from Begusarai and won with a 58,000 margin. But this time, the Communist Party of India, which polled 1.92 lakh votes in Begusarai in 2014, has fielded Dr. Kanhaiya Kumar, another Bhumihar, who speaks fearlessly.
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Dr. Kanhaiya is a former President of the JNUSU. He is also a leader of the All India Students Federation (AISF), a left-wing students organization which is considered to be close to the Communist Party of India (CPI).
He can represent weaker section of the society in a better way and if the Grand Alliance of the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), Congress withdraw its candidate Tanveer Hasan from Begusarai Lok Sabha seat, it facilitate Kumar’s win.
Bihar will vote in seven phases for 40 Lok Sabha seats, starting from April 11 to May 19. The results will be declared on May 23.