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The sellers of famous ‘neembu chai’, however, are still catering to those present at the ghat- local youths in the final round of their talkathon and outstation devotees who have already started arriving in the holy city for its biggest festival- Maha Shivaratri, two days away.
Six days after that, it will be time for the biggest festival of democracy in Kashi. The poll juggernaut in UP will reach a grand finale on March 7 when Varanasi votes along with six other districts of Purvanchal.
The road from Godowlia to the ghat which has been made a no-entry zone for vehicles has no dearth of walkers even after midnight. Many who have come from places like Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka are here to queue up for the ‘Mangla Aarti’- the first aarti of Lord Shiva that starts around 2.30 am.
Vinay Yadav, who is about to down the shutter of his shop of silk garments in the lane outside the KVT, is a rare breed of politician in UP. In the caste-ridden society, his name arrests attention when he says that he is an office-bearer of Bharatiya Janata Party.
“Isn’t Samajwadi Party your natural choice?”
“Kashi blurs that caste boundary, especially after the arrival of Modiji in 2014,” he says.
“Modiji, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, was here on Sunday evening. Yadav has just come back from a workers’ meet addressed by him. “Sangathan mein jaan phoonk kar chale gaye (he has rejuvenated the cadre),” Yadav is full of energy.
PM Modi will camp in the city for two days just before the final phase on March 7. “Uske baad pura Purvanchal bhagwamay (Entire Purvanchal will turn saffron),” Yadav says. He had camped in Varanasi for two days just before the Purvanchal round in 2017 as well. BJP had won all eight seats of Varanasi.
But the same can’t be said of the whole of Purvanchal. The saffron party could win just one seat in Azamgarh district. This time also, with NDA’s former ally SBSP of Om Prakash Rajbhar in the rival camp, the seven districts of the southern part of Purvanchal look challenging for the BJP. The party cadre in Varanasi hope that his extended presence in the city and roadshows will have a cascading effect.
“Imagine, Modiji is also expected to bail out at least three sitting MLAs, who face a strong anti-incumbency because of their attitude and unavailability,” says Mudit Singh, a postgraduate student of political science in the city. He votes in Varanasi South that houses the KV Temple and newly built Kashi Vishwanath Dham corridor. “BJP can’t afford to lose the seat of Baba Vishwanath even if wins elsewhere,” he says.
“The departure of the likes of Swami Prasad Maurya and Dara Singh Chauhan has no direct negative impact on the BJP. But the party developed cold feet and didn’t follow its earlier decision to drop ‘underserving’ candidates,” says Vikram Patel, a local trader.
“Modi ji will surely come as saviour for such weak candidates. Anyway, a BJP supporter now hardly votes for candidate. They just see ‘Kamal’ on the EVM and listen to what Modiji and Yogiji say. Our MY factor is unbeatable,” says Yadav.
On Sunday, Modi asked the workers to take his ‘Pranam’ to each household of Kashi. He also said that he would keep serving the holy city till his last breath. That made the locals infer that he would keep contesting Lok Sabha polls from the city till as long as he is in electoral politics. That has made his emotional bond with the city stronger.
Though it can’t be said that he is unconditionally and unequivocally loved by all Banarasis. In 2019 also, over 3.5 lakh people voted against him. This number was even higher in 2014. Some of the local colleges have a strong presence of SP’s student wing Yuvjan Sabha and Congress’s NSUI. His ‘devotees’, however, make sure that the image of a ‘Modified’ Kashi is what a person coming to the city takes back home.
The development works done in the past seven years, no doubt, have transformed a substantial part of the city. The Kashi Corridor is the latest addition. “It has increased not only the footfall at the temple but also added to the business in the city,” says Lal Bahadur, a wooden toy seller. This Shivaratri on Tuesday would be the first after the opening up of the corridor, so the footfall is likely to go up substantially.
As the city gears up for voting, all parties are ready with their strong lineup to parade before voters. West Bengal CM Mamata Bannerji will accompany SP chief Akhilesh Yadav to attract a large number of Bengali voters in the Cantt area. SP candidate in Varanasi South, Kameshwar Dixit, is throwing a strong challenge to minister Neelkanth Tiwari.
Dixit, whose father is the head priest of Maha Mrityunjay temple in the city, therefore has the support of a section of priests. SBSP also has a significant presence in the city with OP Rajbhar’s son Arvind challenging UP minister Anil Rajbhar in Shivpur.
Priyanka Gandhi and other Congress stalwarts will also join the campaign bandwagon to bolster the chances of at least two candidates, Rajesh Mishra in Cantt and Ajay Rai in Pindra. Mishra had won the Lok Sabha seat in 2004 to stop the run of BJP. Rai has been a five-time MLA in the past. He thrice won the erstwhile Kolasla seat before the delimitation. In 2010, he won the new seat Pindra in bypoll and in 2012 as a Congress candidate.
After that, the Modi wave changed the electoral maths in Kashi.
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