No Compromise on Kanhaiya Kumar to Contest From Begusarai
Image Coutesy: The Indian Express
With or without support of the opposition grand alliance, the CPI will field former JNUSU president Kanhaiya Kumar from Begusarai seat to contest Lok Sabha polls, and party will not make any compromise over it.
“Kanhaiya will be the party candidate. We are ready for it. Party will not compromise on it,” Satyanarayan Singh, state secretary of CPI, told Newsclick here on Wednesday.
Singh expressed displeasure at Left parties not being invited for the grand alliance meeting attended by RJD, Congress, RLSP, HAM and VIP to finalise seat sharing arrangement. He said CPI will finally decide on whether to contest alone or with the grand alliance at a meeting on March 17 in Patna. Singh hinted that CPI will contest from at least 4 or 5 seats.
“So far, our talks over seat sharing is not fruitful. We have not met RJD chief Lalu Prasad; the matter is pending with the grand alliance.”
Sources in RJD said that the party is reluctant to support Kanhaiya on the ground that in last Lok Sabha polls, RJD candidate Tanveer Hasan got nearly 3.5 lakh votes in Begusarai. Though he was defeated by the BJP's Bhola Singh, Hasan managed to prove his popularity, and he is keen to contest this time.
According to Left party leaders, with RJD and Congress behaving negatively over seat sharing, Left parties are likely to contest separately from at least 15 of 40 Lok Sabha seats in Bihar. Unlike the Lok Sabha polls in 2014, when Left parties fought elections separately, this time they have announced to contest polls together.
CPI (M) leader Avadesh Kumar said that in case left parties don’t join the grand alliance, CPI(M) will contest from three seats. The CPI(ML) has made up its mind to contest from six seats.
CPI(ML) leader Kunal said that Left parties are a strong political force on the ground. “We have cadres, supporters and sympathisers, as Left parties are working with the people, and are fighting for their rights on the ground”.
According to the grand alliance leaders, both the RJD and the Congress want to keep the Left parties in the grand alliance in view of their pockets of influence in over a dozen districts of the state, but are not willing to give them more than three or four seats.
In the 2014 general elections, the RJD won only four seats and the Congress two. The NCP won one seat. The JD-U, which contested separately, also won only two seats. The BJP-led NDA won 31 seats, with the BJP tally being 22.
Also read: Elections 2019: Caste Equation Decides Candidates and Seat-sharing in Bihar
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