Battle for Begusarai: With Jignesh Mevani by his side, Kanhaiya Kumar files nomination

Former Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) student leader Kanhaiya Kumar, who is contesting as the CPI candidate, on Tuesday filed his nomination for the Begusarai Lok Sabha seat in Bihar.

Hundreds of people, mostly youth, joined Kanhaiya Kumar during a two-kilometre march on foot, cycle and two-wheelers waving red flags in the town.

An independent MLA from Vadgam constituency, Gujarat, Jignesh Mevani and former vice-president of JNUSU, Shehla Rashid, also attended Kumar's nomination.

Rashid appealed to people of Begusarai to elect Kanhaiya Kumar as their representative.

Addressing a huge rally after the nomination, Kanhaiya said, "Giriraj Singh is an outsider in Begusarai.”

A joint Left candidate, Kanhaiya Kumar will take on Union Minister and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Giriraj Singh in Begusarai.

The RJD is set to field Tanweer Hasan, who lost to Bhola Singh of BJP in 2014. Kanhaiya Kumar, 32, was arrested in February 2016 and accused of sedition for allegedly doing nothing to prevent the raising of anti-India slogans on the JNU campus.