Modi seeks re-election as BJP eyes record margin in Varanasi

VARANASI : For the first time, the Varanasi parliamentary constituency has a prime minister as one of the candidates. The Lok Sabha constituency was one of the 13 that went to polls on Sunday in the last phase of the general elections.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is the Bharatiya Janata Party’s candidate; in the previous election, Modi, then a PM-hopeful, had defeated his nearest rival Aam Admi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal, by over 370,000 votes. This time around, Modi filed his nomination from Varanasi after a roadshow attended by tens of thousands.

The Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party, who formed an alliance in the state, fielded Shalini Yadav, after dismissed Border Security Force soldier Tej Bahadur’s nomination was rejected by the Election Commission of India.

The Congress repeated Ajay Rai, who contested the previous election, too. Atiq Ahmed, known as a local strongman, was an Independent candidate.

Varanasi is famous for its ghats, and draws tourists from across the globe. The city, also known as Kashi, is also famous among devotees for a temple of Baba Kaal Bhairav.

Varanasi is also known for nurturing the Ganga-Jamuni tehzeeb of communal amity, besides its rich cultural heritage, largely also due to the city’s association with Bhakti poets like Sant Ravidas, Sant Kabir Das and Tulsidas.

Besides the main parties, 15 smaller ones too, fielded candidates.

There were seven Independent candidates, including a turmeric farmer from Osmanbad, Telangana.

Nearly 41% of the electorate are upper caste voters, 38% belong to the Other Backward Castes, while 13% are Muslims and 6%, Dalits.

Though considered a BJP stronghold, both, the Congress and the Communist Party of India have held this seat, back in the 1950s and 60s.

Though Varanasi is considered to be a BJP bastion, the Congress has won this seat seven times in the past. In the past, the seat has also been held by former prime minister Chandra Shekhar (when he was not PM), and BJP leader Murli Manohar Joshi.

Prof Kaushal Kishore Mishra, who teaches political science at the Banaras Hindu University (BHU), says: “Election is quite predictable in Varanasi as Prime Minister Narendra Modi is in the poll fray from here. Despite this, the ruling party is working hard to make its victory a historic one.”

“The election would have been interesting, had the opposition pitted a political heavyweight against PM Modi,” he added.