In what marks his third consecutive Lok Sabha election campaign in Varanasi in the past decade, Sudhir Maurya, a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) worker from Prayagraj, is determined to contribute to a decisive victory for his party. “I am devoting the next two weeks to ensure that the margin of triumph surpasses that of previous elections, establishing Kashi as an unparalleled record-holder not just in Uttar Pradesh, but across India,” Maurya declared. He is joined by numerous saffron party leaders and workers who have flocked to the holy city, also known as Kashi, widely considered Hinduism’s most sacred pilgrimage site.
The Varanasi Lok Sabha seat holds immense significance among the 543 parliamentary constituencies in India. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has set his sights on a third consecutive victory since selecting it as his launchpad in 2014 as the BJP’s Prime Ministerial candidate. The constituency will go to the polls on June 1 in the final phase of the elections.
The BJP’s goal is to secure a record margin of victory, with karyakartas (workers) from various parts of Uttar Pradesh and beyond actively campaigning for Modi. Their door-to-door outreach emphasizes the unprecedented transformation Kashi has undergone and requests voters to send a positive message in Modi’s potential third term.
BJP workers are distributing pamphlets showcasing initiatives such as the recent unveiling of a new ropeway project that promises to revolutionize travel within the city by significantly reducing travel time between Banaras Cantonment Railway Station and the Kashi Vishwanath Corridor. They also highlight the inauguration of Banas Kashi Sankul milk processing unit, infrastructure advancements at UPSIDA Agro Park, a common facility for silk fabric printing, and the foundation stone for the National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT) in Varanasi.
“The city has been transformed; Modi ji has pledged to further change the face of the entire Purvanchal region in the next five years, with Varanasi as its epicenter,” said Mahendra Pandey, a local BJP leader.
In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Modi garnered 6,74,664 votes, approximately 63% of the total votes polled. His closest rival, Shalini Yadav of the Samajwadi Party (SP), secured 1,95,159 votes, resulting in Modi’s victory by over 4,78,000 votes. Ajay Rai, the current opposition INDIA bloc nominee who contested as a Congress candidate, received 1,52,548 votes. Rai also contested the 2014 Lok Sabha polls against Modi but came third with 75,614 votes.
This time, Rai, who also serves as the Uttar Pradesh Congress president, is emphasizing his local roots and pushing the “migrant” or “outsider” narrative in his campaign. He claims that only by ousting the “outsider” can the “Ganga-Jamuni culture of Kashi” be preserved. Rai asserts that the people have resolved to remove the “outsider” this time around.
“Every Kashi resident now has only one slogan — remove the migrant, save Kashi,” reads a Congress hoarding at Bhojubeer Chauraha. “Modi ji writes letters to 2,000 people of Varanasi asking for votes. When thousands of people died during the coronavirus period, why did Modi ji not send a letter of condolence?” Rai questioned in one of his public meetings. He urged the people of Kashi to ask these questions to the Prime Minister before casting their votes.
“In the Assi Ghat, the carcass of a cow is openly floating in the Ganga. There is no one to take care of it. Did Maa Ganga call him here to see such days?” the Congress nominee added in another meeting.
Rai, a five-time former MLA, maintains that only a “son of the soil” can genuinely understand the needs of Varanasi. Despite facing an uphill battle, the Congress candidate has secured the support of several top Opposition leaders, including Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and Samajwadi Party (SP) president Akhilesh Yadav, who have held a joint meeting. Former Congress U.P. in-charge Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and Mainpuri MP Dimple Yadav have also conducted roadshows, all while alleging that the claimed transformation has resulted in the destruction of Varanasi, with old heritage buildings lost forever.
Muslims constitute approximately 14% of the electorate in Varanasi, while Brahmins are estimated at around 10%, the Yadav community at nearly 8%, and the Bhumihars, from which Rai hails, are believed to be around 5%.
