E-Paper
Giriraj Singh agrees to contest from Begusarai after meeting Amit Shah
The BJP leader thanked Shah for the meeting. “I met him as a party worker and aired my grievances before him. He gave a patient hearing and assured that organisation will find out a solution of the problems. He had asked me to contest from Begusarai,” he said.
In a relief to the state BJP, the week-long drama following union home minister Giriraj Singh’s refusal to contest from Begusarai, ended on Wednesday with Singh agreeing to abide by party’s diktat after his meeting with party president Amit Shah in New Delhi.
BJP president confirmed the development through a tweet. “Sri @girirajsingbjp will contest from Bihar’s Begusarai. I heard all his grievances and the organisation will find a solution of his problems. I wish for his success in the polls,” Shah tweeted.
Singh had been camping in the Delhi ever since the tickets were announced to meet party president and put forward his grievances.
The BJP leader thanked Shah for the meeting. “I met him as a party worker and aired my grievances before him. He gave a patient hearing and assured that organisation will find out a solution of the problems. He had asked me to contest from Begusarai,” he said.
After his meeting with Shah, Singh reached state capitallater in the evening.
Singh, the sitting BJP MP from Nawada and union minister of state for micro, small and medium enterprises, is unhappy over the manner in which Nawada seat was allotted to its alliance partner, the LJP. As per the NDA seat sharing announcement, Nawada seat has gone to the LJP. The BJP and the JD (U) are contesting on 17 seats each while the LJP is contesting on six seats.
He had also showed his dissent over the manner the state leadership ignored his request to seek re-election from Nawada and said that he was the only minister whose constituency was changed. “No other union minister from the state have to give up his sitting seat. I have worked so much to nurture my constituency. Go and ask the state president Nityanand Rai what went wrong,” he had said.
Singh’s colleagues in union cabinet, Ashwini Kumar Chowbey, Radha Mohan Singh, R K Singh and Ram Kripal Yadav were retained from their respective seats.
Singh had won from Nawada by a margin of nearly 1.40 lakh votes while BJP’s candidate from Begusarai, the late Bhola Singh had won by approximately 60,000 votes.
A few days back, close relatives of Singh had clarified that the union minister was not shying away and will contest from Begusarai.
