Patna: Begusarai, often called as the Leningrad of the East, has been known as the 'Mini Moscow' due to the Left's mass mass support which is dwindling fast now.
Soon after it became a parliamentary constituency in 2004, Begusarai has elected MPS from the Indian National Congress, Janata Dal (United), and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). In 2019, much of the Left party's hopes rested on firebrand student leader Kanhaiya Kumar given by the craze he generated across the country for his strident voice against the BJP.
The elections, however, saw BJP's Giriraj Singh turning the table on Kanhaiya winning with 56.50% of the votes. The constituency holds a significant place in Bihar's political map. Established in 1870 as a sub-division of Munger, Begusarai has evolved into a key parliamentary constituency over the years.
The shocking defeat
Kanhaiya's defeat despite the hype in 2019 dealt a blow to the prospects of the Left as the former JNU Students' Union president and CPI candidate failed to ensure vote swing in his favour. The surprise win of Giriraj Singh, who belongs to Nawada and was an 'outsider' decimated the Left's hope to keep its bastion intact. During his election campaign, the CPI airdropped many political bigwigs and even veteran film actors to create a wave for Kumar. A spirited campaign saw Shabana Azmi and Prakash Raj aggressively canvassing for the CPIM candidate.
Hectic electioneering expected
As the Lok Sabha polls approaches, the most talked seat of Bihar is again in the reckoning. Bharatiya Janata Party's firebrand leader and union minister Giriraj Singh is a strong contender for the party ticket. The saffron party is also keeping an eye on Congress, Left party and Rashtriya Janata Dal candidates for the Begusarai seat.
Tejashwi Yadav, keeping aside the alliance principle, fielded one of his candidates from RJD in Begusarai. Now, the votes which should have gone to Kanhaiya completely got divided. In 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Giriraj Singh got 6,92,00 votes from Begusarai seat. Kanhaiya Kumar on the other hand, got 2, 69,000 votes. Tanveer Hasan, who contested the elections on behalf of Rashtriya Janata Dal, got 1, 98,000 votes. Kanhaiya Kumar lost by about four lakh votes.
Why is it called Leningrad?
Begusarai is called Mini Moscow or Leningrad of the East. In fact, before Independence, the Left had opened a front against Bhumihar landlords. Left leader Chandrashekhar Singh had actively participated in those movements then. Though his father Ramcharitra Singh was the Irrigation and Power Minister in the Bihar government, Chandrashekhar continued turning the heat on the Bihar government for rights. Since then, Leftist ideology took root in many assembly constituencies of Begusarai.
From 1952 to 2019, Yogendra Sharma from CPI became MP in 1967. Electorates in Begusarai elected Congress MPs eight times. Besides, MPs from Janata Dal, Janata Dal United and Bharatiya Janata Party later won the seat. Begusarai seat has been retained by Bharatiya Janata Party for the last two times.
In 2014, veteran BJP leader Bhola Singh had won the election. After his death, this seat became vacant and the BJP gave the ticket to Giriraj Singh. Singh, who was earlier an MP from Nawada, was not ready to accept the offer but was persuaded by the party to do so. He successfully contested the poll and became a minister.
Domination of Bhumihars
From the point of view of the caste equation, Begusarai has been dominated by Bhumihars. No matter which party he belongs to, only the Bhumihar candidate wins from the seat. According to estimates, there are more than 5 lakh Bhumihar voters in Begusarai. Begusarai comprises 2.5 lakh Muslim voters and more than 2 lakh Kurmi Kushwaha voters. The number of Yadavs is also around 1.5 lakh. Apart from this, the deciding factor is also the Dalit vote bank.
The number of Brahmins, Rajputs and Kayasthas are also in good numbers. This time, BJP's Rakesh Sinha appears to have set his eyes for the seat. The Rajya Sabha MP belongs to Begusarai, where he is active.
Who will contest against Giriraj?
However, Ashfaq Karim, Tanveer Hasan and Rajvanshi Mahato, all RJD men, are camping in Begusarai. Besides Kanhaiya, Amrita Bhushan, the ex-president of the state Congress Mahila Morcha, is also another Congress candidate for the seat. BJP realises the importance of Begusarai, which is an industrial area and financially prosperous. As the battle for Begusarai heats up, it remains to be seen who wins the contest.
