“Jatiwad se lenge azadi, garibi se lenge azadi, ham leke rahenge azadi (We will be free from casteism, we will be free from poverty, we we will definitely get our freedom),” the rhythmic slogans blared out from loudspeakers as we waited in front of the house of Ganesh Chowdhary, a seasoned communist in the Diha village in the Begusarai parliamentary constituency in Bihar. The man who famously coined the slogans, Kanhaiya Kumar, is the CPI’s candidate in Begusarai.
The rural crowd sprang from the chairs under the shamiana as the campaign convoy of Kanhaiya Kumar reached the village. The former JNU student arrived amid a hundred youngsters with red shawls thrown over their neck. Chowdhary treated them to steaming rice and ghee and dal. He had prepared spiced potatoes and fresh curd and the sweet kheer to top it all.
Begusarai was a communist bastion, represented by Yogendra Sharma in the Lok Sabha in the 1960s. The party early leadership rose from the dominant community of Bhumihars. Chowdhari and Kanhaiya Kumar themselves belong to the upper-caste community.
The Bhumihars have since turned into a solid vote bank for the BJP. The BJP seems to view the threat posed by Kanhaiya Kumar seriously, judging by party president Amit Shah’s deployment of Union minister and prominent Bhumihar Giriraj Singh as candidate. Singh has been moved out of his comfort zone of Navada.
The Mahagathbandhan has put up a Muslim candidate - RJD’s Tanweer Hassan, making the contest fiercely three-cornered.
After lunch, Kanhaiya Kumar started the conversation by asking what did I think of the political situation. I said that minority votes would be crucial. Kanhaiya Kumar nodded and said that he was delayed because he had to wait for the Friday prayers at a masjid to finish.
The BJP has deployed its senior leaders to campaign against Kanhaiya Kumar. The youngster has been greeted with black flags at some places. He was also physically attacked. “These are not people from around here. I could see that,” Kanhaiya Kumar said.
Begusarai is witnessing a battle of David and Goliath, of youthful energy and idealism on the one hand and money power and organisational strength on the other.
