A small Congress worker taking on PM

Varanasi: Sporting signature Shaivite tilak on his forehead, Ajay Rai, the Congress candidate from Varanasi from where Prime Minister Narendra Modi is seeking re-election, looked relaxed and composed despite the ever-increasing pressure of fighting an electoral battle with country's most powerful, charismatic and popular politician, when The Hans India met him at a hotel in the spiritual city. And he is confident of putting up a strong fight against Modi when Varanasi votes on May 19, the final phase.

"Support base for me is increasing by the day. That is an indication that it will be a keen contest between the Prime Minister and me. There is also local sentiment. People want a local person as their MP", Rai told this newspaper.

A soft-spoken person, Rai is in the fray for third time in a row. In 2014 too, he contested on Congress ticket, but came third. He also lost earlier in 2009 when he was in fray as Samajwadi Party (SP) nominee. "Narendra Modi is the county's Prime Minister.

I am a small man. A small worker of Congress Party like me is taking on Modi here. There is huge difference between us. But situation is changing in Banaras.

It will be tough time for Modi," he said. Asked about the claims of BJP that it undertook projects worth Rs 34,000 crore in Varanasi, Rai termed it as an empty rhetoric.

"All these projects are in air and yet to come to the ground. Modi is good at making grandiose announcements. He says he will give Rs 10,000 crore, Rs 50,000 crore.

But he never sanctions the funds. Same is the case with Varanasi," he claimed, adding the Modi government just built a road from Babatpur to Banaras which was a project launched by the UPA government.

He also alleged that the Modi government destroyed many old temples in the city on the name of Kasi Viswanath Corridor. "On the name of this project, he dismantled several religious structures, destroyed spiritual fabric of Varanasi and ancient structures," he said.

Rai further said that people in the constituency were disappointed by Modi's performance. "They are very angry because Modi made big promises and big announcements. But he did not deliver anything," he pointed out

Some say that the responsibility of taking on Modi was thrust on Rai after Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Congress' star campaigner and sister of Congress president Rahul Gandhi backed out at the last moment.

Earlier, she sent out signals that she would take on Modi here.

But Rai claimed that she never made such a statement. "When Congress workers asked her to contest from Varanasi, she said: 'Should I?'. That's all. She never said she would contest from this place".

Asked about the presence of SP candidate, Shalini Yadav, in the fray, he said her presence would not make any difference. "It is one-on-one fight between Congress and BJP, not a three-cornered contest," he said.

On the plans of BJP to get seven lakh majority in Varanasi, he said: "My opponent is PM. He can do anything. He can tamper with EVMs to secure such a majority. He can buy voters also.

I am a normal and small person. But it is people of Kasi who will decide the number of votes a candidate gets, not Modi, not me," he maintained.