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Journalism of Courage
Varanasi Lok Sabha constituency: Varanasi, is one of the 80 Lok Sabha constituencies in Uttar Pradesh, with five assembly segments: Rohaniya, Varanasi North, Varanasi South, Varanasi Cantt, and Sevapuri.
Voting in Varanasi will take place on June 1 (phase 7).
Reflecting on the past two elections, Prime Minister Narendra Modi of the BJP has secured victory in the polls significantly, against opposition from the Congress and the Samajwadi Party (SP).
The Varanasi constituency is considered a stronghold for Modi and the BJP; Ajay Rai from the Congress and Athar Jamal Lari from the Bahujan Samaj Party have filed their nominations against him, with it expected to be a closely watched constituency for the upcoming 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Notably, the comedian turned politician, Shyam Rangeela has also filed nomination from Varanasi, as an independent candidate.
Narendra Modi was re-elected in the 17th Lok Sabha from Varanasi and led the Bhartiya Janata Party to a massive victory for a second term during the 2019 Lok Sabha elections with a substantial margin of 4,79,505 votes, garnering 6,74,664 votes with a vote share of 63.60%.
Shalini Yadav of the Samajwadi Party (SP) received 1,95,159 votes, accounting for 18.40% of the total votes, and Ajay Rai from the Congress party, who came in third with 1,52,548 votes, constituting 14.38% of the votes cast, was against him.
Similarly, in the 2014 Lok Sabha Elections, Modi won the Varanasi seat for the first time on a BJP ticket, receiving 56.37% of the total votes, while Arvind Kejriwal from the AAP came in second with 20.30% and Ajay Rai from the Congress party came in third with 7.34% of the votes, followed by Kailash Chaurasiya from the SP, who secured 4.39% of the total votes.
A former five-time MLA from Varanasi, Ajay Rai is set to contest the Lok Sabha elections for the third time from the Varanasi constituency from Congress, against Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Rai is the current president of the UP Congress Committee (UPCC).
Rai had challenged Modi in the 2014 and 2019 Lok Sabha elections from the Varanasi constituency but lost both times. In the 2019 elections, Modi defeated his nearest rival Shalini Yadav of the Samajwadi Party by 4.80 lakh votes, while Rai secured the third spot with 14.38 per cent of the total votes.
In an unexpected move, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) has fielded Athar Jamal Lari from the Varanasi Lok Sabha seat. Lari has been part of multiple parties throughout his career, such as Janata Dal, Quami Ekta Dal, the Samajwadi Party and Apna Dal in his four-decade-long career. Interestingly enough, Lari has contested a total of 5 elections in his career, including two Lok Sabha and three Vidhan Sabha elections, but is yet to register a single win.
In a surprising late move, the comedian from Rajasthan, Shyam Rangeela, who became famous after impersonating PM Modi, has thrown his cap in the political arena by announcing to file a nomination for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections from Varanasi against Narendra Modi. Rangela is known for his comedy acts, where he mimicked Narendra Modi, Rahul Gandhi, and many other public figures. However, he was legally prohibited from mimicking Narendra Modi, ultimately leading to his comedy career’s decline. Rangeela then decided to join politics. He first joined AAP but soon left. Notably, Rangeela’s nomination was cancelled by ECI after the announcement of the final candidate list from the Varanasi Lok Sabha constituency. Earlier, he also complained that he was not allowed to file a nomination by ECI and was not allowed in the complex on the last day until Narendra Modi filed his nomination.
