By Abu Zafar, India Tomorrow,
New Delhi, 11 May 2014: Eastern Uttar Pradesh’s Varanasi, which is one of the holy cities for Hindus and known as the ‘temple town’ is the epicentre of attention from across the country because of BJP prime ministerial candidate, Narendra Modi, and AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal giving a neck to neck fight to each other.
The Varanasi Lok Sabha seat, which comprises of five assembly seats, has more than 24 lakh voters and is going to the poll on Monday.
There is a mix of reactions from people of Varanasi over the nomination of Modi and Kejriwal. Some of them fear that if Modi wins then the city may face communal tensions and some assume that if big leaders like Modi and Kejriwal have lots of things to do in Delhi, they will never turn back to Varanasi and listen to the grievances of the local people.
Modi is the Chief Minister of Gujarat and the prime ministerial candidate of BJP; and Kejriwal is the convener of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and former Chief Minister of Delhi.
Apart from Kejriwal and Modi there are 40 other candidates who are contesting from the Varanasi constituency, including Congress candidate Ajay Rai.
Mahant Gopal Govindanand Brahmacharya, Agni Akhada Rajghat Varanasi, says that all political parties are against religion and cheating people in the name of democracy.
“Either it is the SP government, Mayawati or Modi. They never had any development agenda for religious places. They are cheating people on the name of democracy,” Govindanand told India Tomorrow.
“Politicians are playing politics and forcing people to fight each other,” he alleged.
Answering a question about the BJP and its ideology of Hindutava, he alleged that even in Gujarat several temples were demolished during the expansion of roads and no alternative places or compensation were given.
“There is no sufficient development in Junagarh of Gujarat. Several temples and mutts were demolished in the name of development,” Govindanand alleged.
“Junagarh is one of the largest religious places of Hinduism, it should be given the status of Kumbh but it is suffering from a lack of development,” he added.
“Gujarat government had planned to build an old age home in Junagarh, but it didn’t,” he further said.
He said that all parties talk about Ganga but there is a lack of planning.
“Ganga is a world famous river and it is an important issue here in Varanasi. The government should do cleaning work in the Ganga with a detailed plan,” he said.
Govindanad said that in his opinion no party will come in Lok Sabha with absolute majority.
Dipak Malik, director of the Gandhian Institute of Studies in Varanasi, says that Varanasi is a holy city for Hindus and it was never known for communalism in its history. According to Malik it will be unfortunate if Modi wins from Varanasi.
“Modi belongs to forces of Hindutva, not only Hindutva but the Sawarkar variety of Hinduism and if he wins then it will be very unfortunate for Varanasi,” Malik told India Tomorrow.
“Benaras (the other name for Varanasi) never accepted that definition of Hinduism,” he added.
He said that people were upset with the BJP because of the track record of sitting MP Murli Manohar Joshi and former BJP MPs was not good.
“Sitting MP Murli Manohar Joshi hardly visited 6-7 times in his five year terms. People who have elected him, they are so disappointed by him,” Malik alleged.
When asked about the AAP effect in Varanasi, he said that it is good that AAP has challenged Modi and questioned its model of development.
“AAP made a good presence here in Varanasi and directly confronted with Modi but why didn’t Kejriwal finish his term in Delhi?” he asked.
Dr. Anand Prasad Mishra, who teaches Geography at the prestigious Banaras Hindu University (BHU) is worried because of the big leaders who have come from outside and fears they will not return after election.
“Most of the candidates are not related to ground reality in Varanasi. They are being imposed by corporate and media,” Mishra told India Tomorrow.
“If big leaders like Modi and Kejriwal win from Varanasi, then they will never visit here,” he added.
Mishra said that it is the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) who fielded Modi here and they will spread their ideology much faster throughout the country if Modi comes to power.
“I fear if Modi wins and becomes the Prime Minister then RSS will expand its ideology all over the country. Common people will suffer a lot if he comes to power,” Mishra pointed out.
Mahant Rajeshwaranand, another priest in Agni Akhada at the Rajghat of Varanasi, sees no difference between all these political parties.
“For saints like us, all such parties are the same. Politicians keep changing parties from time to time and it is like the same wine in new bottle, only the label changes,’ Rajeshwaranand told India Tomorrow.
When asked whom he favoured in the election or was going to vote for, he said that it was worthless to vote for anyone.
“I don’t trust politicians and I think it is worthless to vote for anyone,” he opined.
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