VARANASI, UP — India's eastern city of Varanasi, one of the oldest in the world, has become the mother of all electoral battles in the ongoing general elections to elect a new Parliament. The city is all set to witness a fight between the main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party's candidate for prime minister, Narendra Modi, and chief of the fledging anti-corruption party Arvind Kejriwal. Apart from the two heavy weights, the ruling Congress party has fielded its local leader Ajay Rai. There are many other candidates in the fray, including those of the regional parties in the state of Uttar Pradesh. However, political pundits believe it's going to be one-to-one fight between Modi and Kejriwal. Meanwhile, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief Kejriwal was expected to leave for the temple city by train on Monday and was expected to stay on till the polling day. Varanasi will go to polls during the last phase of elections on May 12. Last month, when the controversial Modi announced his intention to stand in Varanasi, the most sacred city for Hindus, he was not merely grandstanding. His decision had been cleverly thought out —some saw it as a political masterstroke. On the one hand, it was meant to woo the BJP's core Hindu voter; on the other, it aimed to enthuse the party cadre in Uttar Pradesh. Any party with dreams of ruling India must perform well in the state, India's most populous with more than 200 million people and 80 parliamentary seats. Modi is the long-time chief minister of the western state of Gujarat and it was on his watch in 2002 that more than 1,000 people, mostly Muslims. The BJP and its leader are hoping voters are won over by his reputation as an able administrator who has made Gujarat into an economic powerhouse and one of India's most developed states. Varanasi, on the banks of the Ganges, has long been neglected despite its religious significance — it's filthy, chaotic and overwhelming and it's the dismal state of the city's infrastructure that draws many to Modi. On the other hand, the AAP's slogan for Varanasi is “river, weaver and sewer” — the party points to the high levels of pollution in the River Ganges, the plight of the hundreds of thousands of weavers involved in making the world famous Banarasi silk saris, and the filthy open drains of the city. At a rally attended by several thousand people at Varanasi's Beniyabagh grounds in late March, Kejriwal appealed to farmers, traders, small businessmen, weavers and housewives not to vote for the BJP leader.
