PATNA: Begusarai, once known as the Leningrad of Bihar, dramatically took a right turn in the past two Lok Sabha elections, riding on the back of the Modi wave. This time, however, the Communist Party of India (CPI) is working overtime to wrest its stronghold from the BJP.
Unlike 2019, it’s going to be a direct contest between the BJP and the Opposition bloc. The BJP has fielded Union minister and its fire brand leader Giriraj Singh (71) as its candidate again. He is locked in a tough fight with CPI’s Awadhesh Kumar Rai (72), two-time MLA from Bachhwada assembly constituency in Begusarai district. Rai is the joint candidate of the Opposition INDIA bloc comprising the RJD, the Congress, and three Left parties.
The candidature of Rai, a Yadav by caste (OBC), shows the Left party’s intent to tap the RJD’s solid MY (Muslim-Yadav) support base. In the 2019 election, Giriraj had won the seat by defeating CPI candidate Kanhaiya Kumar (now with the Congress) by a margin of over 4 lakh votes.
This time, the CPI’s optimism stems from two factors — anti-incumbency against Giriraj and the Opposition’s joint fight against the BJP. In 2019, the RJD, a major regional party, had also fielded its candidate, Tanveer Hasan, who polled 2 lakh votes, splitting the anti-BJP votes.
“Giriraj is facing the ire of voters. He has done nothing for the welfare of the people in the past five years. All he did was to raise the banner of ‘Hindutva’ without missing any opportunity to hurl abuses on Muslims. Will the people of Begusarai vote for him for this?” asks Randhir Kumar Singh, a resident of Rosera.
Randhir, who owns a departmental store in the sub-divisional town, says that even those belonging to Giriraj Singh’s caste (Bhumihars) are not happy with him. Randhir’s anger against the BJP nominee is corroborated by Vijay Kumar Singh, a retired government employee of Begusarai town. “Giriraj mainly is relying on ‘Modi magic’ to win the election this time again,” he remarks.
The ground situation is different from that of 2019 because there is a united Opposition candidate. However, this in itself may not be enough to defeat Giriraj. The CPI candidate’s chances will greatly dependent on how well he is able to woo the Muslim-Yadav vote base of the RJD. On the other hand, BJP supporters believe Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s blitzkrieg will overshadow all other issues and Giriraj will win.