Will pad up and bat if captain tells me to: Kanhaiya Kumar on contesting Bihar polls

New Delhi: Congress leader Kanhaiya Kumar on Friday said that he will contest the upcoming Bihar Assembly polls if the party tells him to.

Using a cricketing analogy, Kumar said that just like batting, bowling, and fielding are responsibilities that have to be fulfilled on the cricket field, fighting polls is also a responsibility in politics.

"To fight polls, to make others fight polls and campaign, all are responsibilities that the party allots. If the party tells me to contest the polls then I will fight the elections also. Earlier also, when I contested the polls, it was on the orders of the party," he told PTI in an interview when asked whether he will contest the upcoming Bihar Assembly polls slated later this year.

"If the captain tells me to sit outside and deliver drinks for those at the crease, I will do that. And if the captain tells me to, I will also pad up and bat," Kumar said on the possibility of him contesting assembly polls.

On the Congress projecting him as a prominent face in Bihar, Kumar said the party has given him a responsibility like it does to its lakhs of workers. It is like in a team where different people have a separate role, he added.

"Earlier, (MS) Dhoni was the wicketkeeper. Now (Rishabh) Pant is there," he said, drawing a cricketing parallel.

Asserting that the party functions with collective effort, Kumar said the decision to contest polls should also be collective.

"I have been a strong votary of the principle that fighting an election is a collective decision. Like other responsibilities, fighting polls is also a responsibility. Like batting, bowling, and fielding are all responsibilities that have to be fulfilled, fighting polls is also a responsibility," he told PTI.

Kumar, a former president of the Jawaharlal Nehru University Students Union, had unsuccessfully contested the Lok Sabha polls twice. He first contested general elections on a CPI ticket from Bihar's Begusarai in 2019 and then as a Congress nominee from Northeast Delhi in 2024.

On the Election Commission asking for place of birth certificates starting with Bihar polls, Kumar said the Congress has asked the poll panel to rectify the anomalies in the voters list.

"Today, if you raise questions on EC, they are answered by the BJP. You raise questions on ED, and answers are given by the BJP. You raise questions on the CBI and the Income Tax Department, answers are given by the BJP. I would like to remind you that it was the BJP that raised the questions over EVMs... So, if you (the BJP) raises questions it is ok but if we do the same, it is wrong," he said.

"First you were saying there is no error. Now you are starting this process from Bihar. So, you are accepting that there is a mistake. And if there is a mistake, your focus should be on rectifying that and not harassing people. A Process should not become a punishment and the issues that have been raised should be rectified honestly," Kumar said.