Giriraj upset over being shifted to Begusarai

Patna, March 18 (IANS) A day after the BJP gave Bihar's Nawada Lok Sabha seat to the LJP, Union Minister Giriraj Singh on Monday expressed unhappiness and hinted he may not contest from Begusarai where he is being shifted.

"Why should I contest from Begusarai? Why not from Araria? I am being shifted to Begusarai as I belong to Bhumihar caste," Singh was quoted as saying by a Bharatiya Janata Party leader close to him.

Giriraj Singh has reportedly made clear his unhappiness to the party's central leadership over the way the Nawada seat, from where he was elected in 2014, was given to the Lok Janshakti Party (LJP).

Nawada has a sizeable population of Bhumihars.

Former Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) Students Union President Kanhaiya Kumar is likely to contest as the Communist Party of India (CPI) candidate from Begusarai.

He has the support of the opposition's Grand Alliance's.

Last week, Giriraj Singh announced he would either contest from Nawada or would not contest in the Lok Sabha elections at all.

BJP leaders here maintain that Giriraj Singh will eventually contest from Begusarai.

"He will abide by the party decision... The LJP is likely to field Veena Devi, the sitting MP of Munger from Nawada."

Lalan Singh, a Bhumihar, won from Munger in 2009 but lost in 2014 when the JD-U contested the elections on its own.

Giriraj Singh, known for his controversial statements, is a staunch supporter of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

According to the seat-sharing formula, the BJP and the JD-U will contest 17 seats each while the remaining six seats will go to Ram Vilas Paswan's LJP.