LS polls: Political 'biggies' flock to Varanasi for last stand
Battle for eastern UP will get fierce with heavyweights visiting within next few days
Varanasi: The battle for eastern Uttar Pradesh will get fierce with BJP’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi stepping into Congress scion Rahul Gandhi’s territory in Amethi on Monday and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav all set to storm Varanasi, on May 10.
Sensing that eastern UP might slip out of its grip, the Samajwadi Party has decided to pull out all the stops. The UP CM, who plans to hold a public rally at Akilwa Gaon, a rural segment of the Varanasi Lok Sabha constituency, on May 6, will storm the temple city with a roadshow. Arrangements are on full swing to make his campaign a massive show of strength. To counter Mr Modi’s presence in this region, SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav is contesting from Azamgarh.
In a couple of days, all the BJP Chief Ministers, Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Vasundhara Raje, Raman Singh and Manohar Parrikar, are expected to land in Varanasi and tour all 14 districts of Kashi. While actress Preity Zinta has already campaigned for Mr Modi, Hema Malini and other galmorous leaders are also expected to reach the city.
If Mr Modi intends to break the tradition of top rivals not campaigning in each other’s home turf by holding a rally at Amethi on Monday, Rahul Gandhi will be in the Mirzapur Lok Sabha constituency, a nearly-two-hour drive from Varanasi, on May 6.
The Congress functionaries in Varanasi hope that Mr Gandhi will send a strong signal by standing next to party candidate Ajai Rai in Varanasi.
On Sunday, however, it was external affairs minister and the leading Muslim face of the party, Salman Khurshid, holding the fort for Mr Rai in Varanasi. Speaking to the media, Khurshid went on to compare Mr Modi with infamous Hindi film villain Gabbar Singh, from Sholay.
When Mr Khurshid saw a banner saying “Modi aanewala hai (Modi is coming),” it apparently reminded him of the chilling lines from the blockbuster film. “I thou-ght of the line when a mother says, ‘Beta so ja, nahi to Gabbar aa jayega (Go to sleep, child, or Gabbar will come)’,” he said.