BJP's Giriraj Singh has over twice the number of votes as debutante Kanhaiya Kumar, so far

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BJP's Giriraj Singh has over twice the number of votes as debutante Kanhaiya Kumar, so far
Union Minister and BJP senior leader Giriraj Singh speaks during a campaign for party's candidate from Godda constituency, Nishikant Dubey, during an election rally ahead of the last phase of the Lok Sabha polls, in Deoghar district.Photo)(
  • BJP's Giriraj Singh has over 6.88 lakh votes compared to rival Kanhaiya Kumar's 2.67 lakh votes.
  • Rashtriya Janata Dal's Tanveer Hasan has a little over 1.96 lakh votes after the first hour of counting.
  • BJP has over 51% of the votes counted so far.
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A small district of Begusarai has a difficult choice to make between two firebrand politicians-- debutante Kanhaiya Kumar from the Communist Party of India (Marxist), popularly known as CPI(M) and the veteran Giriraj Singh from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). And they seem to have picked Singh's saffron over Kumar's red.

As of 9:50 am, Giriraj Singh was ahead with 51% of the votes counted while Kanhaiya Kumar had half the number of votes as his rival from BJP. In the third spot is Tanveer Hasan of the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), which is in alliance with the Congress in the state of Bihar.

The voter turnout this time was at 61.27% that is 2% more than five years ago when the BJP candidate Bhola Singh bagged the seat with a margin of 58,000 votes.

Kanhaiya Kumar shot to national fame when the cops in Delhi arrested him and his friends from the Jawaharlal Nehru University for alleged anti-national activities in 2016. Since then, he has used the media spotlight on him to challenge BJP’s politics and policies, and target Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his rhetoric.

Aside from a long list of stars from the showbiz -- poet Javed Akhtar, actors Shabana Aazmi, Prakash Raj and Swara Bhaskara as well as comedian Kunal Kamra campaigned for him -- Kanhaiya Kumar has the support of a big chunk of people, nearly 450,000, in the district who belong to the same caste as him, Bhumihar. He has also been wooing votes of the Muslims, who make for 17% of the district’s population.

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However, it has to be said that in the particular case of Begusarai, both RJD and CPI(M) resonate among Muslim voters, people from the Yadav community, as well as those from Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes of the region.

Further, Kumar and Hasan are pitted against a veteran politician and a minister in the central government, Giriraj Singh, who is riding on Modi’s charm much like many other BJP candidates across the country.

Any division of votes between Kumar and Hasan may provide an advantage to the BJP. On the other hand, a victory for Kumar may earn him the credibility of a serious politician and a long career. Hasan is fighting for his pride to second consecutive loss in Parliamentary elections.

Uttar Pradesh Lok Sabha Election Result 2019

West Bengal Lok Sabha Election Result 2019

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