NEW DELHI — Varanasi parliamentary constituency is all set to witness an intense political battle. After Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief Arvind Kejriwal drooped hints to take on Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)'s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi, Quami Ekta Dal's (QED) Mukhtar Ansari has also thrown his into the electoral arena. With Ansari entering the fray, it is expected to eat into the BJP vote share in what was assumed to be a “safe seat” for the party. Ansari, the then BSP candidate, was a close second in the 2009 elections losing to Murli Manohar Joshi who has now vacated the seat for Modi. The AAP which had been waiting for the BJP's announcement is gearing up for a rally in Varanasi on March 23. Kejriwal on Saturday declared that he was ready to take on Modi from Varanasi but linked his final call to the people's approval there. However, unfazed by Kejriwal's announcement to seek people's mandate to take on Modi from Varanasi, the BJP maintained that there was no possibility that the former stood a chance against its PM nominee.
