Monday, May 20

BJP’s Giriraj Singh Hopes To Win Begsurai Once More With “Hindu-Muslim Politics”?

Edited by Fathimathu Shana

2024 Lok Sabha Election in Bihar’s Begusarai will take place on May 13. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) fielded sitting MP Giriraj Singh hoping to secure the seat for yet another term. Singh is the Union Minister of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Department. He is also the sitting MP of Begusarai constituency.

Giriraj Singh grabbed headlines for his controversial statement against Muslim voters. He said that vote Jihad is going on all over the country to defeat PM Modi. “Love Jihad happened, Land Jihad happened and now Vote Jihad is happening. To counter this vote jihad, every Sanatani will have to stand with PM Modi. Only then will we be able to compete with it”.

Earlier, while addressing an election meeting, Giriraj Singh said that people often say that he do the ‘Hindu-Muslim politics. He said, “I also accept that I do Hindu-Muslim politics. But I also do politics of development. During my tenure of five years, Begusarai has been developed at a cost of thousands of crores.”

Begsural is currently under the clasp of Giriraj Singh. The constituency have active participation of major political parties like, BJP, CPI, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), and the Janata Dal-United (JDU). As he seeks for yet another term, his victory is challenged by the opposition INDIA bloc, which fielded Awadhesh Kumar Rai of the Communist Party of India (CPI). The consolidation of the anti-BJP votes poses challenge for Singh to win the seat.

Once a Congress bastion, the constituency has witnessed a fluctuation in power over the past three decades. The constituency’s allegiance was shifted to Nitish Kumar led JDU in 2004. But in 2014 and 2019, it was BJP, whom the people chose.