In UP's Last Lap, BJP Puts Brand Modi to Full Use

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posted on 7 years ago — updated on 1 second ago

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As Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the Kal Bhairav temple for the first time since his election as an MP from this eastern UP city, the symbolism and concerns of the BJP top brass, including Modi himself, were evident.

Varanasi: For believers of the Hindu religion and mythology, Kal Bhairav is the ultimate protector. In Varanasi, the deity is identified as Nagar Kotwal. Literally translated, Kotwal means a police officer. In the case of Kal Bhairav, the deity is the mythical protector or law enforcer of Varanasi.

The question, therefore, arises — why is Varanasi and the region comprising just 40-odd Assembly seats going to the polls in the final phase on March 8, so important? The seat, after all, is crucial enough to ensure that all top BJP leaders from Modi to party chief Amit Shah and at least a dozen Union Ministers, RSS leaders, strategists and election managers storm this VVIP constituency.

Are the ground realities for the BJP much more tough and complex as compared to the positive perception that has been created around it in this election? ‎The realities can be understood thus — despite being the parliamentary constituency of the Prime Minister and giving his Cabinet three Union ministers, the party's Vidhan Sabha performance has been poor show. While minister Mahendra Nath Pandey is from Chandauli, Manoj Sinha is from Gajipur and Anupriya Patel of Apna Dal is an MP from Mirzapur. Chandauli is also the home district of Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh.

Out of eight seats in Varanasi, the alliance has three seats. This includes the Congress stronghold of Pindra, from where party MLA Ajay Rai is contesting again. The Samajwadi Party has Rohaniya and Sevapuri seats, while the BSP has MLAs from Ajagara and Shivpur. No doubt that when compared to 2012 statistics, both the BJP and the alliance are equally pitted against each other.

Apart from 17 seats in Varanasi and Jaunpur, there are seven in Gajipur, four in Chandauli, five in Mirjapur, four in Sonbhadra and three seats in Sant Raivdas Nagar. As of now, compared to the BJP's four seats, the Samajwadi Party has 23, while the Congress has three MLAs in the region. Five seats are with the BSP, while others had won five.

When asked, BJP MP from Gorakhpur Mahant Adityanath tried to downplay the concerns. “Anyone is a PM or minister later and a party worker first. Since it is an election and we are taking it seriously, every worker is devoting his time and energy for the cause,” he says.

Congress state spokesperson and Varanasi native Kamlakar Tripathi, however, claims, “The BJP is highly anxious. The alliance is giving their leaders sleepless nights. It's not only the battle for UP. Modi ji's is probably more keen on saving his honour in his own parliamentary constituency.”