Kanhaiya Kumar\'s electoral debut; to contest from Begusarai on CPI’s ticket

Patna: The former president of the JNU students' union, Kanhaiya Kumar will be the CPI's candidate from Bihar's Begusarai for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.

However, this announcement comes a day after the opposition's Mahagathbandhan (grand alliance) allotted just one seat to the Left parties in Bihar.

Kanhaiya’s entry would be remarked as the firebrand into the electoral politics.

On Friday, the opposition grand alliance in Bihar announced its seat-sharing deal for 40 Lok Sabha constituencies. Lalu Prasad’s Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) will contest 20 seats, Congress to field 9 seats, RSLP to fight for 5 seats and Jitan Ram Manjhi-led HAM-S gets three seats. The Vikasheel Insaaf Party has got three seats and the CPI-ML Liberation one from the RJD quota.

CPI Bihar secretary Satyanarayan Singh said the party had taken a final call to field Kanhaiya Kumar. He also said that the executive committee meeting has been called on Sunday to decide on the other seats the party will contest.

Begusarai is likely to see a triangular contest with NDA’s Giriraj Singh, CPI’s Kanhaiya Kumar and RJD’s Tanveer Hassan.

After his arrest in 2016 sedition case, Kanhaiya Kumar became an overnight sensation from the JNU. His fiery speeches had set the tone for the fightback and made him a Left icon. But he seemed to have issues with RJD’s Tejashvi Yadav.

The general elections will be held from April 11 to May 19 in seven rounds. Bihar, which has 40 Lok Sabha seats, will vote in seven phases - April 11, April 18, April 23, April 29, May 6, May 12, and May 19. The results will be declared on May 23.