A day after she was named the Congress general secretary in-charge of eastern Uttar Pradesh, several posters cropped up in Varanasi, demanding that Priyanka Gandhi Vadra contest the upcoming Lok Sabha elections against incumbent MP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, sister of Congress president Rahul Gandhi, has been given the charge of eastern Uttar Pradesh, also known as Poorvanchal, under which Varanasi comes.

While some locals here were enthused at the prospect of her accepting the candidature, others feel that this would not only be a "wasted exercise but also harakiri for the debutant Congress general secretary".

Bharatiya Janata Party MP from neighbouring Bhadohi Virendra Singh Mast said politics had changed a lot since the heydays of the Gandhis. He said the captive mindset of the voters had changed, and that rather than dynastic politics, they were favouring development-oriented, casteless politics.

"This 'remove Modi' campaign will not yield results and we will again win in the Lok Sabha elections" he said.

Senior BJP leader Vijay Sonkar, who has represented Varanasi in the past, admitted that Priyanka Gandhi as a big name that carried the "weight of the Indira Gandhi legacy." He said the maximum that Priyanka Gandhi can do is pull crowds.

--IANS

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