Putting rest to speculations that AICC general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra will be the Congress’ candidate from Varanasi, the party has given yet another chance to Ajai Rai to fight Prime Minister Narendra Modi from the seat.

Rai had secured 75,614 votes in 2014 and finished third after Arvind Kejriwal of the AAP.

The Congress’ decision has brought a breather to the SP-BSP camp. The alliance managers were apprehensive that if Priyanka Gandhi contests against Modi, it will have an impact in the seats adjacent to Varanasi in eastern Uttar Pradesh as the focus on Modi-Vadra fight may split anti-BJP votes.

‘Countrywide impact’

The Congress said Priyanka Gandhi’s impact will not be limited to just one State, but it will be felt in the entire country.

“We have a process and system for fielding candidates. We believe the whole country needs Priyanka Gandhi’s leadership. She is the general secretary for a large part of the State (UP). We aim to win maximum seats from that region and voters are impacted by her leadership and simplicity. Her impact will be on the entire country,” Congress spokesperson Ragini Nayak told reporters here on Thursday.

While Modi got 5,81,022 votes in Varanasi, Kejriwal secured 2,09,238 and BSP’s Vijay Prakash Jaiswal had 60,579 votes. This time, SP’s Shalini Yadav is the alliance’s candidate here. She is from Varanasi and hopes that the “local person” tag will be helpful for her.

In 2014, Rai contested the election hoping that “local tag” will help him. Rai, a muscleman who worked with the BJP for 15 years, thought of winning the Muslim votes in the locality.

He had told BusinessLine in 2014 that his former colleagues in the BJP were also helping him.

“They all are in touch with me. They love Banaras and they want their brother to represent them. A large number of outsiders are managing the campaign. My friends in the BJP tell me that these outsiders are taking the credit for the work done by them,” Rai had said.

In 2014, Kejriwal gained the support of Muslims. The two-lakh minority votes are crucial here. Given the current trend in the first three phases, this time, Muslims may favour SP’s Yadav. The Congress’ effort will be to reach out to the Muslim belt.

But Rai was apparently not popular among Muslims in 2014. Rai was supported by Mukhtar Ansari of Quami Ekta Dal, who was once his rival. But that also couldn’t help him in Varanasi.

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