Lok Sabha Elections: Congress fields ex-JNUSU prez Kanhaiya Kumar from North East Delhi

Congress leader and former JNUSU president Kanhaiya Kumar

Former Jawaharlal Nehru University Student’s Union President and Congress leader Kanhaiya Kumar will contest from the North East Delhi constituency for the upcoming Lok Sabha Elections.

A meeting was held by the party’s top leadership on April 10 following which it was decided that it would back Kumar to fight from one of the seats in the city, according to an earlier report by the Indian Express.

Congress has tied up with the Aam Aadmi Party in the national capital to fight the upcoming Lok Sabha elections set to begin on April 19. AAP will fight on four seats, while the Rahul-Gandhi-led party will be seeking to re-establish its presence in the Union Territory with the remaining three seats.

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New party, better luck?

This will be the second Lok Sabha battle for Kumar, who had contested and lost the 2019 elections from Begusarai in Bihar as a candidate of the Communist Party of India (CPI). The seat was won by BJP’s Giriraj Singh. Soon after the loss, Kumar jumped ship and joined the Congress party and was given the charge of the National Students Union of India (NSUI).

The North East Delhi seat has a considerable population of Purvanchalis.

Congress will also contest in the Chandni Chowk and North West constituencies, while AAP will take on BJP in East Delhi, New Delhi, South Delhi, and West Delhi seats.

BJP has fielded candidates for all seven seats with Manoj Tiwari being the only one retained. Tiwari is the current North East Delhi MP and will likely face Kumar’s challenge.

Other candidates named in the list include JP Agarwal nominated for the Chandni Chowk seat against BJP's Praveen Khandelwal), and Udit Raj fielded from North West Delhi facing Yogendra Chandolia.

The 2024 Lok Sabha elections will begin on April 19 and end on June 1 with the results being declared on June 4. Delhi will vote on May 25 in a single phase.