Kashi does not need to become Kyoto, an outsider will not understand this: SP Candidate

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has “destroyed” Varanasi in the name of making it Kyoto, as an “outsider” cannot appreciate that Varanasi does not need to become Kyoto at all, said alliance candidate Shalini Yadav, who is taking on Modi from this ancient city.

In a surprise announcement, the Samajwadi Party has declared a relatively light-weight Yadav as the alliance candidate from Varanasi to take on the Prime Minister while the Congress is still undecided on whether to field Priyanka Gandhi from here.

SP chief Akhilesh Yadav has also made it clear that Yadav will contest the election from Varanasi even if Congress fields Priyanka Gandhi.


Yadav criticized the showpiece Kashi Vishwanath Corridor project of the BJP government, saying the “age-old heritage of the city has been damaged” in the name of the corridor due to the demolitions. The foundation stone of the corridor, linking the Kashi Vishwanath temple to the Ganga ghats, was laid by the PM in March.

“Kashi is known as Kashi world-wide because of its heritage, history and its lanes. Kashi does not even need to become a Kyoto. Kashi must remain just Kashi as that is its identity world-wide. But an outsider cannot understand this,” Yadav alleged.

The 44-year-old Yadav, who lost the mayoral poll in Varanasi in 2017 on a Congress ticket to a BJP candidate, is trying to make it a “local versus outsider fight”, by pointing out that she is an alumni of the Banaras Hindu University (BHU) and her father-in-law Shyam Lal Yadav has been a 3-time MLA from the Mughalsarai assembly seat.

The fact that she polled 1.13 lakh votes for the mayor elections despite losing seem to have prompted the SP’s choice after she joined the party on Monday. Modi had won by a margin of nearly 3.8 lakh votes from Varanasi in 2014 and Yadav is unlikely to pose any challenge to him.

SP had polled just 45,000 votes in Varanasi in 2014 to finish fifth while BSP had finished fourth behind the Congress candidate then, Ajay Rai. Candidates of all the three parties had lost their deposits. “I believe that only Akhilesh Yadav has the vision to develop UP and Varanasi,” said Yadav.