New Delhi/Lucknow: In Uttar Pradesh, after Varanasi, all eyes are on the clash of the stars in Amethi, where Congress scion Rahul Gandhi is facing a two-pronged attack. With the BJP’s Smriti Irani entering the fray, the fight for the Amethi Lok Sabha seat has got a lot more interesting.
On the other hand, all eyes are on the probable Congress candidate from Varanasi, with ground reports indicating that AAP convener Arvind Kejriwal was not succeeding in winning over voters in the holy city. With BJP PM nominee Narendra Modi contesting from Varanasi, this has emerged as one of the most prestigious and high-profile Lok Sabha constituencies.
It is felt that if Mukhtar Ansari, lodged in Agra Jail, files his nomination and manages to step out of prison to campaign as a candidate of Quami Ekta Dal (QED), he could attract a large chunk of the four lakh Muslim and two lakh Bhumihar votes.
While Congress leader Rashid Alvi is lobbying hard to get a party ticket for this high-profile berth, the local Congress unit is rooting for Ajay Rai, a strongman and Bhumihar leader. Sources said besides Mr Ansari, it is Ajai Rai who can att-ract both Muslim and Bhumihar votes.
In Amethi, meanwhile, in their race to unseat Mr Gandhi, a squabble seems to have broken out between Smriti Irani and Kumar Vishwas, the AAP candidate. Taking a dig at Ms Irani, the AAP candidate quipped, “Whether Ms Irani comes, Paki-stani comes, Italian or American, Amethi has already taken a decision.”
Reacting to Mr Vishwas’ sniping, Ms Irani retorted, “In terms of calling me an Irani or a Pakist-ani, I am sure his general knowledge is quite red-uced to when he comes to my own personal background. I do not know whether Mr Vishwas wants to fight the election on issues of development. I will only say that the contest is between the Congress and the BJP, and not between any B-team of the Congress.”
Amethi remains a strong, traditional Congress bastion. The party had lost the seat only on two occasions. In 1977, at the height of the anti-Indira wave due to the Emergency, Sanjay Gandhi lost to the Janata Party’s Ravindra Pratap Singh; while in 1998 Satish Sharma lost to the BJP’s Sanjay Singh.
In Varanasi, though Mr Modi has a clear edge, the battle for rivals is to garner Muslim and Bhu-mihar votes. If the Congress comes up with a weak candidate and Mr Ansari is not in the fray, it will be a cakewalk for Mr Modi. Neither the BSP nor the SP candidate stand a chance to make a mark in Varanasi.
Despite the Modi euphoria, Varanasi is also replete with casteism and brahmins, who form a sizeable chunk of the electorate, are not too happy with the BJP now. They feel Brahmin leaders are being insulted as thakur (Rajnath Singh) and OBC (Narendra Modi) groups gain ground.
