Former JNUSU president Kanhaiya Kumar to contest Lok Sabha polls from Begusarai, Bihar

Image: Twitter/ @kanhaiyakumar

Former president of the JNU Students Union (JNUSU) Kanhaiya Kumar could contest from the Begusarai parliamentary seat in Bihar, The Times of India has reported.

The Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD)-led Mahagathbandhan is mulling over fielding Kanhaiya from Begusarai on a Communist Party of India (Marxist) ticket.

The RJD is still tightlipped on the matter as the decision must pass through party president Lalu Prasad Yadav before his son Tejashwi makes it public. However, senior CPI(M) leader from Bihar, Ram Naresh Pandey, also told the newspaper that Kanhaiya would be contesting from Begusarai.

The Mahagathbandhan, or the grand alliance, in Bihar consists of the RJD, Congress, Lok Janata Dal (Sharad Yadav), CPI(M), Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist), Vikassheel Insan Party and former NDA allies Hindustan Awam Morcha (led by former CM Jitan Ram Manjhi) and Rashtriya Lok Samata Party (RLSP).

A source from the RSLP also confirmed to the paper that Kanhaiya will be contesting from the Begusarai constituency, adding, “Congress is agreeable to the idea and other partners should also not have a problem."

RSLP chief general secretary Satyanand Prasad Dangi said party chief Upendra Kushwaha would leave for Delhi on March 12 to discuss seat-sharing strategy with the Congress and the RJD. Tejashwi Yadav is RJD’s chief negotiator.

Congress and RSLP seemed favourably inclined towards the idea of Kanhaiya contesting from Begusarai and will be able to convince Lalu and Tejashwi of the same, the paper has reported.

The Begusarai seat was won by BJP’s Bhola Singh in the 2014 Lok Sabha Polls. With his passing away in October 2018, the saffron party is mulling over fielding Union Minister Giriraj Singh from the seat. Giriraj Singh, who is currently the MP from Nawada, has yet not expressed any interest or made any statement on contesting from Begusarai.