PATNA: On Saturday, the former president of the JNU student's union Kanhaiya Kumar will be the CPI's candidate from Bihar's Begusarai for the national election. This will be the firebrand student leader's entry into the electoral politics. The decision was taken by the Left a day after Mr Kumar was left out of the opposition coalition in Bihar. He will be joint candidate of the Left parties from Begusarai. Kanhaiya Kumar was widely expected to be the opposition's candidate from Begusarai. However, no seats were given to the CPI and CPI-M, making it clear that Mr Kumar will not be supported by the mahagathbandhan or grand alliance. The seat fell into Tejashwi Yadav's RJD's share.

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Here it is to be noted that left parties in Bihar slammed the opposition for excluding them in the seat-sharing formula, saying the decision was not in sync with the ground realities in the state. A significant reason why Kanhaiya Kumar was left out of the opposition coalition is that Begusarai - called the Leningrad of Bihar as it is the Ground Zero of Left politics in the state - is considered safe for a Muslim candidate. The RJD plans to field Tanvir Hasan, who lost in 2014 by a margin of 60,000 votes. In 2009, Janata Dal United candidate Monazir Hasan won this seat.

However, the RJD's decision to stick to this seat was also prompted by the fact that party was apprehensive that if it backs Kanhaiya Kumar, then Chief Minister Nitish Kumar might take him in his party. RJD sources believe Kanhaiya Kumar has less chances of standing up to the BJP's candidate Giriraj Singh, a Union Minister known for his controversial pronouncements. Kanhaiya's Bhumihar caste, say the sources, may be more inclined to back Giriraj Singh.

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