He is a lone fighter often seen walking on the narrow lanes in this millennia’s old mythological city. He was forced to resign from electoral politics on account of old age. However, this septuagenarian Shyamdev Roy Chaudhary, popularly known as ‘Dada’, may have retired but is certainly not out.
The treatment shown by the party high command made him frustrated but he has remained faithful to BJP ever since the time of Jansangh as a dedicated saffron worker. His positive attitude has suddenly made him a big ‘Hero’ and one of most-wanted party leaders as party’s candidate from Varanasi South — Neelkanth Tiwari — recently upload his pictures with Dada on social media.
Dada was also the most-searched man not only by the media, but even by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his high-voltage ‘Temple Darshan yatra’ in Varanasi on Saturday.
Seeing him at Gyanvapi, after stepping down from his open SUV, PM showed friendly attitude and then Dada became the only BJP leader accompanying Modi when the latter walked to Kashi Vishwanath temple to offer prayer. Not only this, in the evening when Modi was addressing a meeting at Townhall in the evening, he was seeing only talking with this simple party leader.
“I never revolted or rebelled and I continue to be a dedicated BJP worker campaigning for all party’s candidates,” he said with smiling face, adding “I’ve no greed to get much, I’m a simple man”.
Even the party could not imagine what it would face by denying ticket to this reserved and less-talking seven-time MlA. Taking advantage of the situation, Congress has fielded its ex-MP and State vice-president Rajesh Mishra, a former popular BHU student leader.
When Dada said that he had neither rebelled nor campaigned, party chief Amit Shah summoned Dada to lucknow and since then Dada started campaigning. Fearing to pay heavy in PM’s constituency, BJP is now presenting typical Banarasi ‘Dada’ as a brand campaigner.
Though the party could not backtrack his decision, it has forced not only PM to stay here for three days, address three meetings and evening take out two roadshows apart from camping of party chief Amit Shah and about a dozen Union Ministers here. Now the city is waiting for how the BJP compensate this ‘Hero’.