Although the Bharatiya Janata Party leadership is trying to downplay the controversy over the choice of candidate for the Varanasi Lok Sabha seat, preparations are on for selecting a new seat for incumbent Murli Manohar Joshi to pave the way for its prime ministerial nominee Narendra Modi to contest from there.
According to sources in the party, Dr. Joshi is reluctant to vacate the seat for Mr. Modi but the leadership has stepped in to broker an agreement. Dr. Joshi is being persuaded to move to Kanpur, a seat that was bagged by Congress leader Sriprakash Jaiswal in 2009. Another option being explored is Allahabad, from where he had been elected to the Lok Sabha thrice.
“There are three reasons why the leadership is interested in Mr. Modi contesting from Varanasi. First, there is a huge demand for Mr. Modi to contest from Uttar Pradesh apart from Gujarat. Second, if Mr. Modi contests from Varanasi, it will possibly give a fillip to the voting pattern and swing it in favour of the party. Third, the party has decided to hedge its bets by fielding Mr. Modi as Dr. Joshi faces an anti-incumbency vote,” the sources said.
