Claiming that its candidate from Begusarai constituency in Bihar, Kanhaiya Kumar, had overwhelming public support, the Communist Party of India (CPI) has asked Rashtriya Janata Party (RJD) chief Tejashwi Yadav to retire its party’s candidate from there in order for there to be a straight two-way fight with the BJP, reports The Indian Express.
The election in Begusarai is scheduled to be held on 29 April. It was during a press conference that CPI general secretary Sudhakar Reddy made an appeal to Yadav to retire his party’s nominee Tanveer Hassan from the seat.
“I would urge Tejashwi Yadav to consider our appeal that Hassan retires from the contest. He can do this much to help Kanhaiya get a decisive victory since the last date of withdrawal of nominations has elapsed,” Reddy stated.
Kumar had previously attracted controversy in 2016 over his role in organising an alleged anti-national demonstration at the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) when he was the president of the varsity’s students’ union.
“We have no problems with Hassan. Our fight is not against him. There is definitely a buzz around Kanhaiya. It is not for nothing that leaders from other parties like CPI(M)’s Sitaram Yechury and Swaraj India chief Yogendra Yadav are campaigning for him,” Reddy remarked.
The CPI leadership in private reportedly believes that Yadav did not come out in support of Kumar due to his apprehensions about another youth leader coming up in Bihar.
Comments ↓
An Appeal...
Dear Reader,
As you are no doubt aware, Swarajya is a media product that is directly dependent on support from its readers in the form of subscriptions. We do not have the muscle and backing of a large media conglomerate nor are we playing for the large advertisement sweep-stake.
Our business model is you and your subscription. And in challenging times like these, we need your support now more than ever.
We deliver over 10 - 15 high quality articles with expert insights and views. From 7AM in the morning to 10PM late night we operate to ensure you, the reader, get to see what is just right.
Becoming a Patron or a subscriber for as little as Rs 1200/year is the best way you can support our efforts.