Begusarai: Backed by allies, CPI fired up in bid to wrest back old bastion

The Begusarai Lok Sabha constituency in Bihar, earlier comprising parts of erstwhile Balia parliamentary seat and once a stronghold of the Congress and the Communist Party of India, is once again in the spotlight, set as it is for a battle between the BJP heavyweight, sitting MP and union minister Giriraj Singh, and the CPI, which sees a fighting chance this time to reclaim the seat with the support of Congress, RJD and other Left parties.
Begusarai is due to vote on May 13, in the fourth phase of the seven-phase parliamentary elections being held in the country.
BJP won the seat for the first time in 2014 parliamentary elections when Bhola Singh was elected. After his death, an initially reluctant Giriraj Singh, who was elected from his native place Nawada in 2014, recorded one of the biggest victories in the 2019 polls against CPI’s Kanhaiya Kumar, who was then at the peak of his popularity as the former president of the Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ Union and enjoyed the backing of actors, academicians, social activists and others labelled as the liberals.
Despite all the hype over the seat largely due to Kanhaiya’s presence, Giriraj defeated him by a margin of over 422,000 votes. Though the RJD also fought independently in 2019, its candidate Tanveer Hassan finished third with 198,000 votes. The total votes polled by Kanhaiya and Hassan wasn’t even close to Giriraj’s score. After the defeat, Kanhaiya joined the Congress and has been fielded this time from North-east Delhi seat.
This year, CPI has fielded locally rooted former MLA Awadhesh Rai as the joint Opposition alliance candidate backed by both Congress and RJD.
“This time, it will be a historic win for the CPI, as the people of Begusarai have realised the truth of BJP and will not fall in the trap of communal agenda and empty rhetoric of Prime Minister Narendra Modi,” Rai says.
Former MP Shatrughan Prasad Singh, who is managing the CPI campaign, says the fight is between ‘Dhanbal’ (money power) and ‘Janbal’ (people’s power) in Begusarai. “Last time, Kanhaiya was labelled as ‘deshdrohi’ by BJP and he did not have the local connection despite people from across the country rooting for him. This time, ‘deshdrohi’ utterance has already boomeranged on Giriraj. He is facing rebellion from within as his party leaders and those of JD-U have been seen abusing each other on stage. The people are not going to hand over the reins of Begusarai to any outsider. They have seen Lalan Singh, Giriraj and others and have had enough,” he says.
Giriraj, on the other hand, is unfazed and has continued in his characteristic style. He stoked controversy when he said “I don’t need the votes of traitors”. A complaint was also lodged against him by Shatrughan Prasad Singh. “We expect action against him. Due to delay in action, we have also sent a reminder, as any attempt to give communal colour to election is wrong,” he says.
Union home minister Amit Shah has already campaigned in Begusarai and credited Giriraj for “one-crore lakhpati didis” in the country and took on Congress and the Left for “playing appeasement politics”. “The country needs a strong PM who could take bold decisions. For a third term to Narendra Modi, Giriraj Singh must get your support again,” Shah said during his campaign.
Chief minister Nitish Kumar has also campaigned for Giriraj in Begusarai, despite the fact that the two leaders haven’t been on best of terms in the past.
Wearing “Hindutva” on his sleeves and relying on the charisma of Narendra Modi, Giriraj has been going about his campaigning as usual, attacking the Left and the Congress for “harming the cause of Hindus to appease the Muslims”. His bid to polarise voters on similar lines bought him rich dividends the last time. “There is no contest in Begusarai. The image and performance of Prime Minister Narendra Modi is what people trust,” he says.
From Ram temple construction to abolition of Article 370 and tripe talaq, nationalism and Sanatan, the saffron surge is too conspicuous to be ignored in Begusarai, once known as the “Leningrad of Bihar” due to dominance of the Left. BJP wants to make the most of the ideological shift, which started in 2014 and gained momentum in 2019.
CPI is, however, confident that despite the missing buzz that Kanhaiya could create last time, it would be able to halt the saffron rise with the backing of a united opposition “that has people of all hues rooting for them”. All the three left parties are united this time and so are RJD and Congress. Of the seven Assembly seats in the parliamentary constituency, CPI won two seats and RJD two, while BJP-JD-U combine won three in the 2020 assembly polls.
CPI is sharp in its attacks. “People have realised that they need basic issues to be addressed. The Grand Alliance (GA) government in Bihar provided jobs during the brief 17-month tenure and that the people remember that. They know why it happened, though vacancies existed there for years. Giriraj cannot get away with empty rhetoric this tine. We are contesting election with donations from people — from ₹10 to ₹20000 … whatever they voluntarily give. They (BHP) spent lakhs in building stages and tents but the people are not visible. We address people without stage and they come,” said Shatrughan Prasad Singh.
The development work in Begusarai is apparent. The Simaria Ghat, where Lord Ram is believed to have spent a month and which started the practice of “kalpvas” (ritual purification) on the banks of the Ganga, is being developed and the rail-cum-road bridge on the Ganga is coming up fast adjacent to the British-era double-decker Rajendra Setu. The expansion of the Begusarai oil refinery and restarting of the fertiliser factory have further raised hopes for BJP leaders, who describe them as game-changers.
Just ahead of the election announcement, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had visited Begusarai to dedicate to the nation and lay the foundation stones for several projects across the country, including Bihar and Begusarai. He also launched a scathing attack on “dynastic politics” and “appeasement policy” to set the tone for the election.
However, voter indifference is as striking in Begusarai as elsewhere. “It all depends on the people what they want. Speeches no more interest them. They take their own decisions. Let’s see which way they want to swing this time. For the youth, growth means robust economy that can generate employment. But just robust economy will not do,” said Ramashish Sharma, a youth of GD College and a first-time voter.
Constituency watch
Begusarai
Intro: Begusarai, the birthplace of Rashtrakavi Ramdhari Singh Dinkar, is one of the few industrialised districts of Bihar and is home to an oil refinery and a fertilizer factory.
Total Voters: 1,958,382
Key candidates in fray
Sitting MP Giriraj Singh (BJP)
Former MLA Awadhesh Rai (CPI)
Winners in last two LS polls
2019: Giriraj Singh (BJP)
2014: Bhola Singh (BJP)
Assembly segments: Cheria Bariyarpur, Bachhwara, Teghra, Matihani, Sahebpur Kamal, Begusarai, Bakhari (SC)