With just a few days left for filing nominations, Mahagathbandhan in Bihar is out with the first list of candidates for the upcoming general elections. As per the seat sharing agreement in the state, RJD is set to contest on 20 out of the 40 Lok Sabha seats in Bihar with the remaining going to its alliance partners Congress on nine seats. RLSP (Rashtriya Lok Samata Party) will contest five seats, Hindustani Awam Morcha (S) three seats and Vikashsheel Insaan Party (VIP) three seats.
The 32-year-old student leader, Kanhaiya Kumar who was inclined to contest from Begusarai Lok Sabha seat on Mahagathbandhan quota was let down by the outcome of the alliance discussions. The events turned out to be detrimental to Kanhaiya’s political ambitions. Speculations over Kanhaiya’s interest in contesting from Begusarai, which falls under RJD’s quota, were floating after Kanhaiya was spotted meeting RJD supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav several times over the last few months.
Leaders of the RJD while maintaining that Kanhaiya’s name was never a part of the discussions, many believe the dynastical nature of the Mahagathbandhan proved to be the thorn in Kanhaiya’s electoral plans. Kanhaiya’s involvement in the infamous JNU incident, where several anti-India slogans were raised might also have contributed towards his drop. This comes as a shock for Kanhaiya Kumar, who after enjoying media spotlight for long is now exposed to real ground politics.
In an efforts to prolong the Lalu Yadav’s family’s hold over the political ground in Bihar, RJD, brushing off Kanhaiya’s concern is expected to field party loyalist Tanveer Hasan as the alliance candidate from Begusarai. Hasan lost by about 58,000 votes in 2014 Lok Sabha elections.
Congress, which also tapped into Kanhaiya’s perceived popularity to garner steam for the elections has also followed RJD by snubbing the CPI member of any electoral advance. It doesn’t come as a shock as Congress was already down to 9 seats from its initial demand of more than 13 seats in the grand alliance.
With political greed and insecurities under action, Bihar’s political scenario is sure to create ripples in the ‘united’ opposition. Tejaswi Yadav who is currently leading the RJD after conviction of Lalu Prasad Yadav in a corruption case has been critical of Kanhaiya’s efforts to make political ground in the state. Fearing hijack of the electoral spotlight by Kanhaiya, prompted RJD to leave Left parties out of the grand alliance. RJD’s Manoj Jha had announced that the alliance would support a CPI (ML) candidate – not a CPI one – and that person would contest from the RJD quota. However, no confirmation regarding this has been given by the left wing party.
With left parties being left out from the grand alliance, CPI general secretary Sudhakar Reddy has termed the move by RJD and Congress as ‘unfortunate’ and against the greater picture of forming an anti-BJP front in the state. Sudhakar Reddy also said to have had an understanding with Lalu Yadav regarding Begusarai seat however wondered if Tejaswi Yadav was conveyed the message. Kanhaiya will be contesting from Begusarai seat on a CPI ticket. State BJP leader taking a dig at the grand alliance said that the Mahagathbandan is a ‘mahaconfusion’, and also added the seat sharing decision of the grand alliance was a slap on the face of left parties.