On a muggy afternoon, Kanhaiya Kumar, the CPI candidate from Begusarai, was scheduled to speak in the Muslim dominated area of Laruara. Kanhaiya was surprised to see balloons at the venue. There was cake, too, as it was his birthday. Once the brief celebrations were over, Kanhaiya gave his speech. Before he could leave, his supporters wanted him to recite the famous azadi song, which he used to sing while leading students’ protests at Delhi’s Jawaharlal Nehru University.
Kanhaiya, who was president of the JNU students’ union, was the face of the anti-government protests, which erupted in JNU three years ago. As he sang the azadi song once again, the crowd joined him enthusiastically. The song, penned 35 years ago by activist Kamla Bhasin, is a highlight of Kanhaiya’s Lok Sabha campaign as well.
Begusarai lies on the northern bank of the Ganga, which divides the fertile plains of Bihar into two. Though it is only 130km from Patna, it often takes more than six hours to cover the distance because of traffic jams caused by thousands of trucks plying the single-lane highway. Development is slow in the agriculture-dominated landscape, despite the presence of a refinery and a fertiliser plant.
The BJP had swept the Hindi heartland along the Ganga from Uttarakhand to Bihar in 2014. And, Begusarai was no exception. This time, the constituency has attracted the attention of the entire nation because of the three-cornered contest in which the poster boys of hindutva, the left and social justice are fighting it out.
Union minister Giriraj Singh, known for his incendiary rhetoric, is the BJP candidate. A strapping six footer with a prominent tilak on his forehead and beads around his wrist, he attracts immediate attention. He had courted controversy in the past by asking the critics of the BJP and the Narendra Modi government to go to Pakistan and by asking Hindus to produce more children. Giriraj is sure that his brand of politics will fetch him votes. “It is a fight between the cultural nationalism of the BJP and depraved nationalism. People who are so used to singing praises of Pakistan should take a visa and go there,” Giriraj told THE WEEK. He is relying on the BJP’s strong organisational presence and a mix of hindutva, promises of development and Modi’s popularity to see him through. Being a Bhumihar, he is likely to get the support of his caste brethren, who are present in sizeable numbers in Begusarai.
Of the 19 lakh voters in the constituency, nearly 20 per cent are Bhumihars. Muslims constitute 15 per cent, Yadavs 12 per cent and Kurmis seven per cent. In 2014, BJP candidate Bhola Singh polled 4.28 lakh votes, Rashtriya Janata Dal’s Tanveer Hassan, who finished second, got 3.69 lakh votes, while CPI’s R.P. Singh polled 1.92 lakh votes.
Giriraj Singh | Arvind Jain
Giriraj, who won from Nawada in 2014, took some time to accept his candidacy from Begusarai. “I was hurt when they shifted me to Begusarai without taking me into confidence,” said Giriraj.
Kanhaiya, who completed his PhD from JNU in February, is trying to position himself as Giriraj’s primary challenger. A known Modi critic, the 32-year-old is one of the most reviled opponents of hindutva groups. Scores of JNU students, activists like Jignesh Mevani, Shehla Rashid and Teesta Setalvad and celebrities like Swara Bhaskar and Javed Akhtar have been campaigning for Kanhaiya. He can count on the support of at least a section of the Bhumihars as he, too, belongs to the community. However, the CPI last won from Begusarai in 1967.
Yet, the fight in Begusarai is not just between Kanhaiya and Giriraj. The RJD, which leads the anti-BJP coalition in Bihar, has once again put up Tanveer, who lost by less than 60,000 votes in 2014. Tanveer is dismissive of Kanhaiya’s chances, and is confident about the Muslim-Yadav vote bank of the RJD. “The fight is to save the Constitution and the institutions,” he said. “My fight is against fundamentalism. On the other side is the left. But it is me who covers all the space of socialism in between.” Like Kanhaiya, Tanveer, too, has a PhD. He was a student leader during the Emergency days. But the absence of RJD supremo Lalu Prasad from the campaign trail has been a huge setback for him.
The left leaders were hoping that the grand alliance would support Kanhaiya, but that did not happen. “Why could not they spare one seat?” asked Kanhaiya. “It is up to them to reveal the real reason.” Political observers believe that Lalu did not want an articulate leader like Kanhaiya overshadowing his son and political heir Tejashwi on the national scene. He also probably did not want the charges of sedition against Kanhaiya hurting his alliance’s chances.
The BJP, too, indicated that its key opponent was Tanveer. Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Modi said the CPI had no existence in Bihar. “The CPI has not been able to win in the past five elections,” he said. The BJP camp hopes that the Muslim and Yadav votes will be split between Kanhaiya and Tanveer.
Kanhaiya, known for his sharp speeches and articulate rebuttal of Modi’s claims, is hoping for support from farmers, and workers from the oil refinery, fertiliser factory and the thermal plant. As he is the left’s star candidate, cadres and sympathisers are lending him moral and material support. He raised Rs 70 lakh through crowdfunding in a matter of days. He is gaining greater traction among those who are active on social media.
Ground realities, however, continue to pose a challenge for Kanhaiya. “He still appears to be campaigning for a college election. He sounds very bookish,” said Rakesh Singh, a voter from Begusarai. “This is Bihar. Caste and religion do play a role here.”