SP candidate dismisses Narendra Modi's presence in Lok Sabha polls

KANPUR: Notwithstanding his two Lok Sabha losses, a senior SP leader has claimed that not even Narendra Modi would be able to defeat him in Kanpur, after the party handed him the ticket to replace comedian Raju Srivastava as its candidate for the constituency. SP has fielded businessman Surendra Mohan Aggrawal from the high-profile constituency against Congress MP Sriparkash Jaiswal.

Entering the fray for the third time from Kanpur, Aggrawal, however expressing confidence in his party said, "Leave alone Jaiswal, even if BJP leader Narendra Modi was fielded, he would not last in front of me in the elections."

In 2009 general elections, Aggrawal had finished fourth with 35,000 votes against Jaiswal who with 2.14 lakh votes was the winning candidate, according to inform nation obtained from the election office. And in 1998 polls, he lost the fray too after securing only 1.99 lakh votes against the winning BJP candidate who secured over 3 lakh votes, it said.