By declaring Kanhaiya Kumar as its candidate for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections from North East Delhi, the Congress appears to have taken a well-calculated risk. Kanhaiya who was originally seeking a ticket from Begusarai in Bihar, could not be accommodated there since Lalu Prasad Yadav was not inclined to prop up anyone, who in the future, could be a competitor for his son Tejasvi. For a similar reason, Pappu Yadav too was denied a ticket from there. However, Kanhaiya Kumar’s move to North East Delhi could serve as a big boost for the Congress.
Although, his ideological beliefs have been different from those of the grand old party and he has in the past been described by the Sangh Parivar as a member of the Tukde Tukde gang, yet Kanhaiya Kumar has the capacity of making a dent in the polls. The Congress has been on the losing side for the past ten years and does not have even a single MLA in the Delhi Assembly. Its performance in the Parliamentary and Municipal polls has been dismal and the party has been relegated to the third position behind the AAP and the BJP.
However, this time, the Congress is contesting the capital in alliance with the AAP and its chances have suddenly improved. Yes, there are many hardliners who feel that the Congress should have been in the contest alone, and this was an opportunity to reclaim some lost space from the AAP with Arvind Kejriwal in jail and his party in a state of shock.
However, the Congress High Command is of the view that it is the right time to launch a new face in the city, and Kanhaiya Kumar has been chosen since he can upset the present narrative, as well as bring in some fresh ideas for the party. It is true that the young man who did his political apprenticeship in the JNU, is considered ultra-radical by his detractors, but he is both an aggressive campaigner and a powerful speaker, who can help in turning things around. His presence in the field, shall force the BJP to take him on with its old criticism and that would be something which shall affect the rhythm of the elections.
Kanhaiya is pitted against the sitting MP, Manoj Tewari, who is also an accomplished Bhojpuri singer and actor, and someone who had some years back, first made his electoral debut unsuccessfully on the Samajwadi party ticket from Easter UP, before moving to the Saffron Brigade. Manoj also happens to be the only one, who was retained to contest from Delhi since the party’s central leadership has changed all the remaining six candidates by fielding newcomers. The North East constituency has a large Muslim segment and with the AAP supporting the Congress it shall go overwhelmingly in favour of Kanhaiya Kumar. The constituency has a sizable Poorvanchal population as well and this is where the Congress can succeed in creating its own following. Manoj is from Eastern UP and Kanhaiya from Bihar.
There is a possibility that the Poorvanchalis may vote according to their States and thus could impact the polls. The Congress has always been strong in this area and has had in the past, had presence in re-settlement colonies and jhuggi clusters. It is to be seen whether this vote bank remains with the Congress or has shifted towards the BJP. In fact, the BJP was the first party to recognize the Poorvanchal dimension and thus had fielded former minister Lal Bihari Tewari, a strong supporter of former Chief Minister, Madan lal Khurana, from there for the first time. Lal Behari also had the distinction of beating, Delhi strongman, HKL Bhagat and Ashok Walia in a by-election in 1997, caused after BL Sharma `Prem’ of the BJP resigned his Lok Sabha seat, following a confrontation with then Speaker, PA Sangma. Lal Behari Tewari won from there again in 1998 and 1999 and thus the stamp of Poorvanchal was made permanent there.
In 2019, the Congress tried to make a comeback by fielding former Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit from the seat but was unsuccessful. This time also, her son, Sandeep Dikshit and DPCC president, Arvinder Singh Lovely, were in consideration for the seat but lost out to Kanhaiya Kumar. Thus, by bringing in Kanhaiya Kumar, what the Congress proposes to do is to bring in new blood and a fresh face to the capital. The three tickets announced by the party also feature, veteran Jai Prakash Aggarwal, who may be contesting his final elections from Chandni Chowk and Udit Raj, who had fought and won on the BJP ticket in 2014 from North West Delhi, a reserved seat. There are a lot of misgivings about his candidacy and there was a section in the party which would have preferred to have either Raj Kumar Chauhan or Surinder Kumar as the candidate.
However, the Congress president, Mallikarjun Kharge, insisted on Udit Raj. In fact, the AAP wanted to give the New Delhi seat to the Congress but agreed on North West Delhi only because of Kharge’s insistence. The Delhi fight is likely to be close, and AAP’s Mahabal Mishra, who is fighting from West Delhi has already made deep inroads. There is resentment in the BJP camp, after Parvesh Verma, son of former CM, Sahib Singh Verma and the sitting MP was denied the ticket. The bottom line is that the BJP, cannot afford to lose any of the seven seats in the capital but now has to deal with a stiff challenge from both the Congress and the AAP. It is also a make or break election for the Congress, and Kanhaiya Kumar is its new mascot.