Encore of 2014 polls as Narendra Modi and Arvind Kejriwal are set to visit Varanasi on February 22

LUCKNOW: Varanasi, which became the focal point of the 2014 parliamentary polls, with the high profile electoral clash between then BJP’s PM candidate Narendra Modi and AAP’s Arvind Kejriwal, could well set the tone for the 2017 polls in Uttar Pradesh and Punjab. Both politicians are expected to be in the city on February 22 to take part in Dalit icon Sant Ravidas’ birth anniversary celebrations.

More than five lakh followers, most of them from Punjab, are expected to attend the jayanti on February 22 and both Modi and Kejriwal do not want to let go the occasion to woo the electorally important community. AAP’s Eastern UP, convenor, Sanjeev Singh confirmed Delhi Chief Minister’s program to visit the Sant Ravidas Temple in Seer Gowardhan area of Varanasi on February 22.

PM Modi’s will also be in the city on the very day to attend Banaras Hindu University’s 100th Foundation Day and he will also visit the Ravidas temple. BJP leaders said that Modi will also Ravidas followers near the temple compound.

Sant Ravidas was a Dalit icon with huge number of following in Punjab. Ravidasiyas are also present in Uttar Pradesh where BSP chief Mayawati has been wooing them but their numbers are small in the state.

Both Modi’s and Kejriwal’s visit to the Ravidas temple is being seen as their bid to win over the communities confidence ahead of polls.
Earlier Prime Minister Modi had reached out to the Dalit community when he had in January attended the convocation ceremony at the Baba Saheb Bhimrao Ambedkar University in Lucknow and also become visibly emotional while referring to the suicide of Dalit scholar Rohith Vemula. Modi had taken the game changing decision to contest from Varanasi, to improve his party’s chances from Uttar Pradesh in the Lok Sabha polls of 2014. After he announced his decision to contest from Varanasi, Kejriwal too jumped into the fray to contest the Varanasi polls.

With both AAP and BJP volunteers from across the country pouring into the holy city, the electoral battle became keenly watched. Modi went on to win the seat with a huge majority bagging 56% of the votes cast. His party also swept the polls and he was sworn in as the PM in May 2014.