The stage for a riveting poll battle is set as BJP veteran Giriraj Singh has agreed to contest from Bihar’s Begusarai, where he will face former student leader Kanhaiya Kumar. It took an intervention from BJP chief Amit Shah to pacify the leader, who had recently said his that his “self-respect was hurt” after the party shunted him from his parliamentary constituency Nawada in the state.

Mr Shah said in a tweet that Mr Singh’s grievances were heard and would be resolved by the organisation. “Shri Giriraj Singh will contest the Lok Sabha election from Bihar’s Begusarai. I have heard his problems and the organisation will find a solution for them. My good wishes for the election,” he tweeted.

Mr Singh is likely to reach Begusarai on Thursday.

The BJP is contesting in 17 out of 40 seats in the state. An equal number number of seats are being contested by its ally JDU. Ram Vilas Paswan’s Lok Janshakti Party (LJP), which is contesting in the remaining seats, has got Nawada under the seat-sharing agreement.

Kanhaiya Kumar, one of Bihar’s most-watched candidates for next month’s national election, has filed his nomination from the constituency.

The 32-year-old fiery former Jawaharlal Nehru University student, fighting his first ever election, faces a formidable opponent in Mr Singh.

Kanhaiya Kumar is using all his oratorical and crowd-working skills to appeal for support in the form of donations. His campaign team has set a target of collecting Rs 70 lakh, and according to reports, has even got Rs 28 lakh so far.

Giriraj Singh had said he was hurt with the party’s 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.

The BJP has fielded Ravi Shankar Prasad from Patna Sahib, setting up another high profile fight in Bihar as sitting lawmaker Shatrughan Sinha is likely to contest against him as a Congress candidate.

The national election will be held across the country between April 11 and May 19. The results will be declared on May 23. Bihar, which has 40 seats, will vote in all seven rounds.

Get the latest election news, live updates and election schedule for Lok Sabha Elections 2019 on ndtv.com/elections. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter and Instagram for updates from each of the 543 parliamentary seats for the 2019 Indian general elections.