Lok Sabha Elections 2019: Kanhaiya Kumar to contest from Begusarai on CPI ticket

Formerly associated with the ultra-Leftist AISA, Kumar had first hogged limelight three years ago when he was booked in a case related to the alleged raising of anti-India slogans inside the JNU campus.

Kumar will contest for the Lok Sabha from the Begusarai seat in Bihar. / Kanhaiya Kumar (Source: PTI)

New Delhi: The Communist Party of India on Friday announced that Kanhaiya Kumar, the firebrand former JNU student union leader, will contest for the Lok Sabha from the Begusarai seat in Bihar. Formerly associated with the ultra-Leftist AISA, Kumar had first hogged limelight three years ago when he was booked in a case related to the alleged raising of anti-India slogans inside the JNU campus. In Bihar, the opposition 'Mahagathbandhan' today announced its seat-sharing formula for the 40 Lok Sabha seats in the state, half of which will be fought by Lalu Prasad's RJD and nine by the Congress.  Former JD(U) president and NDA convener Sharad Yadav will contest on the RJD symbol and merge his party Loktantrik Janata Dal (LJD) with it after the Lok Sabha polls, RJD national spokesman Manoj Jha and RJD state president Ram Chandra Purve told newsmen. Recent entrants to the 'Grand Alliance' - Upendra Kushwaha's Rashtriya Lok Samta Party (RLSP) and Mukesh Sahni's Vikassheel Insan Party (VIP) will field their candidates in five and three seats, respectively, they said. Former chief minister Jitan Ram Manjhi's Hindustan Awam Morcha (HAM) has been given three seats. Late week, the Left party said it has identified 53 seats in 24 states for the upcoming polls and announced names of 15 candidates. Names of candidates have been declared for Mavelikkara, Thiruvananthapuram, Thrissur and Wayyand in Kerala, Bastar South in Chattisgarh, Hamirpur in Himachal Pradesh, Kathua in Jammu, Tumakuru in Karnataka, Parbhani and Shirdi in Maharashtra, Inner Manipur, Aska in Odisha, Sri Ganganagar, Udaipur and Chittogarh in Rajasthan. The party has also formed an election manifesto committee with Raja as its convener. ALSO WATCH: Viral Sach: Modi-Modi sloganeer right before shooting of Hardik Patel's speech?