Modi would have got tough fight from Priyanka in Varanasi

Varanasi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi would have got a tough fight in Varanasi had Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra contested against him as INDIA bloc’s candidate, feel party workers from the temple town.

The prime minister is likely to have a cakewalk in the third consecutive election he is contesting from the holy city of Varanasi, with INDIA bloc’s Ajay Rai apparently not in a position to spring any surprise even this time, they feel. While Mayawati-led Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) has given the ticket to a local, Athar Jamal Lari, three Independents are also in the fray.

The INDIA bloc has fielded Congress Uttar Pradesh president Rai against Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) Modi from the prestigious seat. Located on the banks of river Ganga, Varanasi is witnessing a weak resistance to Modi in his bid to score a hat-trick from the prominent Hindu religious city.

People as well as the opposition party workers here say in private that there is virtually no contest because the rivals are no match to the prime minister.

A district Congress leader said on the condition of anonymity that this could have been a good opportunity for the opposition to capitalise on the “anti-incumbency” faced by Modi on the seat. But Rai failed in the last two chances and there seems to be little chance of expecting “anything big” from him this time also, he added. Another leader said had Priyanka Gandhi Vadra contested from Varanasi, it would have become tough for Modi.

Initially, Rai himself had invited Priyanka Gandhi to fight the election against Modi from Varanasi. But, the party decided to field him from the seat again. Rai stood third in the previous two Lok Sabha polls from Varanasi.

However, Rai disagrees with this view. “Varanasi will give a shocker to the BJP in the polls,” he said. On the BSP’s presence in the poll race, he said, “The BSP presence is nil bataa sannata (zero impact).”

Modi had won against the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) convener Arvind Kejriwal in 2014 while he had defeated his nearest Samajwadi Party (SP) rival Shalini Yadav in 2019 by a massive margin. Shalini Yadav later crossed over to the BJP. Rai started from the BJP and was elected as an MLA for five times -- three times (in 1996, 2002 and 2007) on a BJP ticket from the Kolasla seat in Varanasi. Modi, who had in 2014 said he had come to Kashi on the call of “Maa Ganga”, recently said “Mother Ganga” has taken him in his lap (apne goad me le liya hai).