Ex-judge, ex-jawan, priest to fight PM in Varanasi

Varanasi, April 13 (IANS) As of now, Prime Minister Narendra Modi appears all set to contest against an interesting array of candidates from Varanasi, when his parliamentary constituency in Uttar Pradesh goes to polls in the last phase on May 19.

Apart from the PM-lookalike Abhinandan Pathak, a retired High Court judge C.S. Karnan, who was convicted for contempt by the Supreme Court is said to be preparing to contest against the Prime Minister. He is also contesting from Chennai.

A sacked Border Security Force (BSF) constable Tej Bahadur Yadav who uploaded a video on the social media showing the sub-standard food being served to paramilitary troopers and was later dismissed is another contestant in Varanasi.

"I want to highlight the plight of jawans and how badly they are treated. By contesting from the PM constituency, I hope my voice will be heard," he said.

A group of 111 farmers from Tamil Nadu and fluorosis victim Ansala Swamy are also among those set to take on Modi in Varanasi

The group, comprising 111 farmers, is led by P. Ayyakannu. And they had staged protests in Delhi in 2017.

There are others, too, like the victims of fluorosis from Nalgonda (Telangana) and Prakasam (Andhra Pradesh), led by activists Vadde Srinivas and Jalagam Sudheer. Fluoride contamination of groundwater is a serious issue in the two states and their aim is to talk about it from a place that will be in focus.

The more "serious" candidates among all of them, is the Bhim Army chief Chandra Shekhar 'Azad'. He has staged a road show in Varanasi on March 30 and has managed a large group of Dalit youths who are campaigning for him.

Prof Vishwambhar Nath Misra, a BHU professor and the chief priest of the Sankat Mochan temple in Varanasi, who is also spearheading a campaign to clean the Ganga river, is also set to challenge Modi in Varanasi.