Mumbai: Victory processions banned in the electorally-critical state of Uttar Pradesh. It is War in Varanasi.
The prime contender is Narendra Modi. He has the National Challenger and anti-corruption hero Arvind Kejriwal for company. And the Congress, elated by party frontrunner Rahul Gandhi's impressive roadshow, has already dismissed its contender Ajai Rai is not fighting for a silver medal in the constituency.
"100 per cent chance...I am not bothered who are our competitors. We are just here to campaign for our party and see the success of our candidate," senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad had said when asked how much confidence the party has about the success of Rai, who is taking on BJP PM candidate Narendra Modi and AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal.
The Varanasi Lok Sabha constituency, which has five Assembly segments, has been a BJP stronghold since 1991.
Meanwhile, the Election Commission officials has banned victory processions in Varanasi and throughout the electorally-critical state of Uttar Pradesh after results are announced.
The state's chief election official, Umesh Sinha, said on Thursday the decision was "ultimately aimed at maintaining law and order in the state".
