A day after the two dissident BJP leaders — Yashwant Sinha and Shatrughan Sinha, a party MP — attended the Jayaprakash Narayan birth anniversary at the Samajwadi Party office here, the SP indicated that “Bihari Babu” should be its candidate from Varanasi Lok Sabha elections against Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
The actor, popularly known as “Shotgun”, who has been sulking ever since the NDA Government came to power at the Centre in May 2014, has stepped up his attack on the Prime Minister for quite some time.
SP sources said Bihari Babu could be an asset for the party, as besides getting a lion share of the Kayastha community votes, he may also polarise the anti-BJP votes in Varanasi Lok Sabha constituency. Varanasi is also closer to his home State Bihar and Patna Lok Sabha seat, presently held by him.
According to highly placed sources in the SP, the discussion to field Shatrughan from Varanasi is in progress and a decision could be taken soon.
The SP sources also suggest that the party is in talks with Aam Aadmi Party for their support on the seat as in 2014 Lok Sabha elections AAP convener and Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal had contested from here.
A former SP MP said, “It is incorrect to suggest that Shatrughan Sinha does not have any influence in Varanasi. BJP candidate Shrish Chandra Dixit was contesting from Varanasi and in front of him was CPI(M)’s Raj Kishore. The wind was blowing in favour of Kishore, but three days before the polling, Shatrughan Sinha along with Lal Krishna Advani addressed a public meeting and changed the equations in favour of the BJP candidate.”
Meanwhile, SP co-coordinator of Shivpur Assembly seat in Varanasi, Anand Mohan said, “The people of Varanasi are fed up with the BJP rule. They now want change. The decision to field Shatrughan Sinha from Varanasi in 2019 lies solely with the party leadership, however if announced he will win with a huge margin for sure.”
Shatrughan along with Yashwant Sinha arrived in Lucknow on Thursday to attend a programme organised by the SP to mark the birth anniversary of Loknayak. Both leaders shared the stage with SP chief Akhilesh Yadav.