Today, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Amit Shah cleared the rift regarding the candidature of Union Minister Giriraj Singh and stated that Singh will contest the election from Begusarai. Giriraj Singh had earlier shown disagreement when party urged him to contest from Begusarai instead of his current Lok Sabha constituency Nawada. After announcing Singh’s candidature from Begusarai, Shah said, “Party organization will solve all the issues he told me about. I wish him for the elections.”
Amit Shah: Shri Giriraj Singh will contest Lok Sabha elections from Begusarai. Party organization will solve all the issues he told me about. I wish him for the elections. (file pics) pic.twitter.com/6quGUFxfZe
— ANI (@ANI) March 27, 2019
Interestingly, former JNUSU President Kanhaiya Kumar is contesting from Begusarai on a CPI ticket. The BJP has fielded veteran leader Giriraj Singh from the constituency, to defeat anti-India forces. However, the decision has not gone down well with Giriraj Singh. In a recent media interaction, Singh openly dissented against it and said, “My self-respect is hurt that no other MP’s seat was changed in Bihar. It was decided without talking to me. State BJP leadership should tell me why it was done. I’ve nothing against Begusarai but I can’t compromise with my self-respect.”
Giriraj Singh, BJP: My self respect is hurt that no other MP's seat was changed in Bihar. It was decided without talking to me. State BJP leadership should tell me why was it done. I've nothing against Begusarai but I can't compromise with my self respect. #LokSabhaElection2019 pic.twitter.com/g7ld6k3myF
— ANI (@ANI) March 25, 2019
Nevertheless, there is no reason for Giriraj to shy away from this contest. Begusarai seems to be a safe seat for the saffron party. In the 2014 general election, Bhola Singh of the BJP rose victorious from the seat. If we deep dive on the caste arithmetic of both the leading contestant from Begusaraui, Kanhaiya and Giriraj belongs to Bhumihar community. And Begusarai is Bhumihar dominated constituency. But the advantage with Singh here is Kanhaiya has an anti-national image. And this will be a major differentiating factor among the two.
Moreover, in worst scenario, a majority of Bhumihars will keep their distance from him. On top of Bhumihar votes, Giriraj Singh can count on traditional BJP support base that is sure of converting into vote base. Not to forget that CPI, who is fielding Kanhaiya, is an almost non-existent party in Bihar and does not enjoy any sort of voter base.
Giriraj Singh is a leader of a national stature and a prominent face of the party from Bihar. He has a vast support base in Bihar as well as on various social media sites. Giriraj Singh is a politically incorrect politician who uses the microblogging platform Twitter like a pro. His jibes have been a top favorite of Twitter users in India. The tweets of this wily MP from Nawada are a harmonious blend of humor, presence of mind, and deliberate political incorrectness. He is the Minister of State for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME). But that doesn’t stop Singh from rattling his critics with his tweet missiles.
Also Read: 15 Times When Giriraj Singh proved that He is the King of Twitter
Coming back to his candidature from Begusarai, shying away from this great opportunity would certainly damper his image as a strong leader. BJP sees him as a potential candidate for CM and not contesting from Begusarai will definitely hit his political future both inside and out of the party.
