Varanasi: The battle royale in the holy city of Varanasi is hotting up. On Tuesday, Jamaat-e-Islami Hind, an Islamist outfit, announced its support for Aam Aadmi Party convener Arvind Kejriwal, who is pitted against BJP’s Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi in Varanasi.
This raises the prospects of Mr Kejriwal, who is already eyeing a significant chunk of Muslim votes.
While Mr Modi is still clearly ahead in this race, Mr Kejriwal could possibly have an impact on his victory margin. The BJP expects Mr Modi to win by a margin of at least two lakh votes. But with a large chunk of Muslims and backward Hindu votes inching towards Mr Kejriwal, the BJP PM candidate’s victory by a huge margin could get somewhat tricky.
Mohammed Sabir Falahi, president of the Varanasi unit of Jamaat-e-Islami Hind, said that it will try to consolidate the Muslim votebank in the AAP’s favour.
Muslims comprise 20 per cent of Varanasi’s electorate. This matches the numbers of Brahmins and Kurmis, who are the two other major voting blocs here.
The BJP, however, refused to give any importance to Mr Kejriwal, with senior leader Arun Jaitley saying, “Mr Kejriwal was a governance disaster. It is a reality that he is also contesting.”
A few days back, Congress leader Salman Khurshid, who was in Varanasi took a dig at the AAP convener by feigning ignorance of his identity. “Kejriwal. Who is Kejriwal?” Mr Khurshid asked the media.
The Jamaat’s backing counters jailed Quami Ekta Dal leader Mukhtar Ansari’s move to transfer its votes to Congress candidate Ajai Rai. On Monday, JD(U) chief Sharad Yadav reached Varanasi and held four meetings to express support for Mr Kejriwal. On Tuesday, Sharad Yadav, who was returning to New Delhi, however, said the JD(U) was supporting Mr Kejriwal “as an individual, not the AAP”.
He said, “We appreciate his courage and conviction to take up the challenge. We support him, but not the AAP.”
Sensing that a consolidation of Muslim votes could have an impact on Mr Modi, BJP leaders are working on the Shia community. Of 3.5 lakh Muslim votes, Shias account for 40,000.
The Shia community, which also constitutes an affluent section, is rooting for Mr Modi.
