Was not informed about change in seat: Giriraj Singh

Upset over the change of his constituency, Union minister and Bharatiya Janata Party leader from Bihar, Giriraj Singh, has claimed the state leadership did not take him into confidence before allotting him the Begusarai seat, instead of re-nominating him from Nawada.

“Bihar BJP leaders kept me in dark. They gave me pain; now they have to give me medicine,” Singh said on Tuesday, expressing displeasure over the BJP’s move. “I am waiting for them to explain me the rationale behind the decision.”

The Nawada seat, which Singh had won with a margin of more than 1.4 lakh votes in 2014, has been given to the Lok Janshakti Party, as per the seat-sharing agreement reached between the BJP and its allies Janata Dal (United) and the LJP.

“Since 1996, I had a desire to contest from Begusarai. Getting to contest from there is an honour. But my self-respect has taken a beating with the way I have been treated. I have to choose between honour and self respect,” Singh said.

Polling for the Begusarai seat will take place in the fourth phase, on April 29.

The Union minister, who is known for making controversial remarks, said he came to know about the change of his constituency from the LJP leadership.

A BJP leader, who asked not to be named, however, said Bihar BJP president Nityanand Rai and the party’s Bihar in-charge Bhupendra Yadav had discussed the matter with Singh. “Singh claims a handful of people decided ticket distribution without proper consultation. He wants to prove a point, and secure a position of prominence in the decision making process in Bihar,” the BJP leader said.

Another BJP leader involved in the party’s Bihar affairs denied that nobody spoke to Singh. “He was told before the announcement,” the leader said, on condition of anonymity.

Singh denied that he developed cold feet fearing a tough contest in Begusarai, following announcement that the Communist Party of India would field student activist Kanhaiya Kumar from this constituency. “I do not want to comment on him [Kumar]. But people know I fear none,” Singh said. In a tweet in Hindi, Kanhaiya said, “The ‘visa minister’ from the ‘Pakistan Tour And Travels’ department who forcibly sends people to Pakistan is hurt on having to go from Nawada to Begusarai.”