Modi camp eyes Varanasi LS seat

Murli Manohar Joshi, who represents the constituency, has told his supporters he wouldn't abandon them

Supporters of Gujarat Chief Minister and BJP leader Narendra Modi have made discreet and informal enquiries regarding the caste and community composition of the Varanasi Lok Sabha constituency. However, party leader Murli Manohar Joshi, who represents the constituency in the Lok Sabha, has told his supporters he wouldn't abandon them.

The developments suggest there may be a stand-off in the party on which seat in Uttar Pradesh Modi would contest from.

Talking to reporters in Varanasi last week, Joshi stressed he wouldn't vacate his constituency. "We are hearing Modiji might contest from this city. So, we asked Joshiji if this was so. He told us this information wasn't correct," a party worker from Varanasi told Business Standard.

Party leaders say the Varanasi seat is a safe bet for BJP. Three of the five Assembly seats coming under this Lok Sabha constituency are held by the BJP.

"If Modiji contests from there, the spin-off will work in the entire Poorvanchal region-right up to the Bihar border. Currently, we have only two Lok Sabha seats from this region-Gorakhpur, represented by Mahant Adityanath, and Varanasi," a said a party worker.

Modi's presence in Varanasi, which has strong Muslim pockets and a highly assertive Muslim population, would also result in religious polarisation, which would benefit the Congress, party workers added. "The efforts of the Muslim population would be to defeat Modi's bid for power at any cost. For this, they would think a party that would push Modi back should be brought to power," said the BJP worker.


In the assembly elections, they believed Mulayam Singh Yadav and the Samajwadi Party could do this. But in a Lok Sabha election, they reckon Mulayam Singh Yadav would eventually support the Congress. So, why not vote for the Congress directly, rather than helping it come to power through proxy," asked the BJP worker.

BJP president Rajnath Singh isn't keen on Modi contesting from anywhere in Uttar Pradesh. According to party leaders, the Singh camp argues caste is the primary factor in the state and Modi's efforts might not cut much ice there.

It is expected there would be some clarity on the matter if Modi's proposed interactions with students in Banaras Hindu University, Lucknow University and Allahabad University campuses materialise.