Priyanka Gandhi to hold roadshow in Varanasi on May 15

Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra will hold a mega roadshow in Varanasi, the constituency of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on May 15 for the party candidate Ajay Rai.

The road show will begin from the city's Lanka area and will culminate at the Kashi Vishwanath temple.

Hectic preparations are on for the roadshow by Congress leaders. According to sources, party leaders from various states are expected to be present in the road show.

The idea is to present the Congress as the main challenger to Modi in Varanasi and make the roadshow equivalent if not bigger than the one held by the Prime Minister when he filed his nomination papers on April 26.

Congress candidate Rai, a five term MLA, in 2014 had failed to save his deposit in the election against Modi.

This time, he is the main candidate against the Prime Minister. Samajwadi Party is now supporting Shalini Yadav after the nomination of dismissed Border Security Force trooper Tej Bahadur Yadav was cancelled.

Varanasi goes to polls in the final phase of the Lok Sabha elections on May 19.

--IANS

amita/ksk