"Self-Respect Hurt," Says BJP Minister, Denied Preferred Bihar Seat

Union Minister Giriraj Singh, who wanted to contest the April-May national election from his constituency Nawada, is still upset over his party's decision to field him as its candidate from Begusarai. The leader on Monday said his self respect was hurt as no other sitting parliamentarian's seat was changed, except his. He also claimed that he was not consulted by the the BJP before taking the decision.

"My self respect is hurt that no other MP's seat was changed in Bihar. It was decided without talking to me. State BJP leadership should tell me why was it done. I've nothing against Begusarai but I can't compromise with my self-respect," he was quoted by news agency ANI as saying.

In 2014 polls, Mr Singh had defeated RJD's Raj Ballabh Prasad with a massive margin.

This time, however, his seat went to Ram Vilas Paswan's Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) under the seat-sharing agreement with the BJP.

If Mr Singh, known for his controversial views, agrees to contest the polls, he will face student leader Kanhaiya Kumar, who will contest as the Left candidate from Bihar's Begusarai.

A day after the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) announced its candidates, Mr Singh had expressed his displeasure. "Why should I contest from Begusarai and not Araria?" news agency IANS quoted him as saying.

Many saw this as an indication that Mr Singh may not contest from Begusarai. According to IANS, the Union Minister had even announced last week that he wouldn't mind sitting out the elections if Nawada was not allotted to him.

Last week, LJP leader Chirag Paswan had said that it was too late in the day to make any changes in the seat-sharing agreement. "I do not wish to cause Giriraj-ji any grief, but I think we have gone too far now to revisit the decision," he had said.

The NDA had announced 39 candidates for the polls in Bihar. LJP's Chirag Paswan will contest from Jamui, BJP's Rajiv Pratap Rudi from Saran, Giriraj Singh from Begusarai, Ashwini Kumar Chobey from Buxar, and Union Minister Radha Mohan Singh will contest from East Champaran.

Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad will be the BJP's Lok Sabha candidate from Bihar's Patna Sahib.

With inputs from agencies