Gripped with Modi euphoria the demand for BJP’s Prime Ministerial candidate to contest from Uttar Pradesh is slowly gaining grounds. Earlier it was only party workers and leaders who were demanding that Modi should contest election from Uttar Pradesh but now even the common man on the streets want Modi to contest election from Uttar Pradesh.
It is emotional call from the people saying that in previous years Uttar Pradesh has given Prime Minister to the country and this time too the credit should go to UP. Names of many constituencies have come up as suggestions from where Modi could contest the lok Sabha election. This includes lucknow, Kanpur, Varanasi and Allahabad. Of these lucknow and Varanasi have BJP MPs while Samajwadi Party’s Reoti Raman Singh had won from Allahabad and Congress’ Sri Prakash Jaiswal from Kanpur. Dr Murli Manohar Joshi and laji Tandon have won from Varanasi and lucknow respectively.
Despite lucknow being Prime Minister’s constituency for many years after Atal Bihari Vajpayee won five elections from here it is believed that Modi could contest election from Varanasi. There is a line of thinking as why Modi should contest lok Sabha election from Varanasi and not from lucknow. This holy city of Varanasi is the nerve centre of Hindutava agitation - which revolves around Ayodhya, Kashi and
Mathura - and has seen emergence of BJP in Ram Mandir agitation days. Since 1991 six lok Sabha elections are held and BJP has won Varanasi seats five times. During Ram Mandir wave era BJP won the Varanasi seat for the first time in 1991 when for retired IPS officer Sri Chandra Dixit defeated his nearesr Samajwadi Party rival. After that party’s Shakar Prasad Jaiswal won elections in 1996, 1998 and 1999. BJP lost Varanasi to Congress’ Dr Rajesh Mishra in 2004 but it again won the seat in 2009 when Dr Murli Manohar Joshi defeated BSP’s Mukhtar Ansari.
Thus, more or less Varanasi is BJP bastion and this goes without saying that Modi will have a cake walk. It is not only his personal victory but the impact party will make in the neighbouring constituencies will be tremendous.
Varanasi, the seat of learning is fulcrum of Poorvanchal that has 28 lok Sabha seats in eastern Uttar Pradesh. The political message from Varanasi can traverse from Sonebhadra to Gorakhpur and can influence the Poorvanchal belt. Eastern Uttar Pradesh is important for BJP’s scheme of things and if party wants to win 40 plus seats Modi has to contest election from Uttar Pradesh and preferably the constituency like Varanasi. Moreover it can also influence Bihar that has 40 seats.
BJP leadership says they also want Modi to contest election from the constituency of his choice in Uttar Pradesh. "If Modi wants he can contest from lucknow. I am ready to vacate it for him," the sitting party MP lalji Tandon said.