by Harish Gupta, National Editor, Lokmat Group
special report
Shatrughan Sinha considered from Varanasi
Joint Opposition candidates against Modi planned
Priyanka in the reckoning too
Harish Gupta
New Delhi, April 4
The Opposition parties are seriously considering fielding a strong joint candidate from Varanasi against Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the ensuing Lok Sabha polls. The poll in Varanasi will be held on May 19 and last date for nominations is April 29. Except for the BJP no party has announced its candidate from the Varanasi seat. Even the Samajwadi Party which had made some announcement, has withdrawn its candidate. The BSP has opted out of the race and gave the seat to the Samajwadi Party as part of the seat sharing arrangement.
Highly placed sources in the Congress told Lokmat today that parleys have been going on to find a common ground to corner the BJP in Varanasi and not to allow a cakewalk to Modi who had won the seat by a margin of more than 3.50 lakh votes in 2014 Lok Sabha polls. This was largely because there was a 4-corner contest. This time, a common candidate be pitted against Modi to avoid splitting of anti-BJP votes.
If these sources are to be believed two names are under serious consideration for the Varanasi seat-- Priyanka Gandhi and Shatrughan Sinha. Though Shatrughan Sinha has already declared his intentions to contest from Patna Sahib which he represents in the Lok Sabha as BJP MP. But there is a suggestion that he shifts to Varanasi instead of Patna Sahib and become a joint Opposition candidate. He has personal rapport with SP chief Akhilesh Yadav who had earlier offered that his wife Poonam Sinha contest from Lucknow against the BJP stalwart Rajnath Singh on the SP ticket. Shatrughan Sinha is reported to have discussed this issue with Rahul Gandhi. However, details on this issue are not immediately known.
In addition to Shatrughan Sinha, a proposal is also afoot to field Priyanka Gandhi from the Varanasi Lok Sabha seat. Though she is campaigning in UP East but she can galvanize not only the party cadre but the entire area if she is fielded from Varanasi. Priyanka Gandhi had said in a lighter vein the other day in response to a question, “Do you want me to contest from Varanasi.”
Even Shatrughan Sinha was coy when asked by Lokmat today at his residence.He said, “A lot of people want me to contest from Varanasi. But it is not for me to comment. It is for the party to decide.”
A final decision in this respect will be taken sometime next week.
Ends
