Will Priyanka contest from Varanasi? Suspense is a double edged sword

New Delhi, Apr 21: Amid speculations on whether she will fight the Lok Sabha elections from Varanasi against Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Priyanka Gandhi on Sunday put the onus on Congress president Rahul Gandhi.

Though she took a plunge into the active politics in January this year, Priyanka Gandhi has not yet made it clear whether she would contest Lok Sabha polls or not. Even if Priyanka does decide to contest, 'from where' is the question that is being widely debated by political analysts and is something that is vehemently discussed regularly on almost every news channel.

Priyanka Gandhi
FIle photo of Priyanka Gandhi

Priyanka also wants everyone to keep guessing and every now and then makes a veiled but vague remark hinting at something, but not sure what it is.

Last month, when asked if she would like to contest from her mother's constituency, Raebareli, Priyanka Gandhi had quipped, "Why not Varanasi". And stopped at that, she did not respond to questions put forth by the scribe after that remark and just kept smiling.

Today in Wayanad where she is campaigning for Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka said she would be happy to contest from Varanasi if Rahul asks her to.

[Attempts on to destroy Constitution says Priyanka Gandhi]

"If the Congress president asks me to contest, I will be happy to contest," Priyanka Gandhi said in Wayanad, the Kerala constituency from where Rahul Gandhi would be contesting LS polls along with the family bastion of Amethi.

One thing is for sure, if Priyanka decides to take on PM Modi from Varanasi, the city will witness what can be called the mother of all contests.

[Country will see Priyanka as a 'thief's wife': Uma Bharti]

Congress is in fact playing mind games by allowing this suspense to build up. But then again, suspense is a double edged sword.

When Priyanka Gandhi casually told Congress workers in Raebareli, "Why not Varanasi", she created the suspense herself. If Priyanka Gandhi now decides to not contest from Varanasi, it will make Modi appear even stronger - in Varanasi and India alike. The unmistakable message will be the Congress doesn't have the fire in its belly to fight the Modi juggernaut.

Varanasi Fact Check
Year
Candidate's Name Party Result Vote Vote Share Margin
2014
Narendra Modi BJP Winner 5,81,022 56% 3,71,784
Arvind Kejriwal AAAP Runner Up 2,09,238 20% 0
2009
Dr. Murli Manohar Joshi BJP Winner 2,03,122 31% 17,211
Mukhtar Ansari BSP Runner Up 1,85,911 28% 0
2004
Dr. Rajesh Kumar Mishra INC Winner 2,06,904 33% 57,436
Shankar Prasad Jaiswal BJP Runner Up 1,49,468 24% 0
1999
Shankar Prasad Jaiswal BJP Winner 2,11,955 34% 52,859
Rajesh Kumar Mishra INC Runner Up 1,59,096 25% 0
1998
Shankar Prasad Jaiswal BJP Winner 2,77,232 43% 1,51,946
Deena Nath Singh Yadav CPM Runner Up 1,25,286 19% 0
1996
Shankar Prasad Jaiswal BJP Winner 2,50,991 45% 1,00,692
Raj Kishore CPM Runner Up 1,50,299 27% 0
1991
Sheesh Chandra Dixit BJP Winner 1,86,333 41% 40,439
Raj Kishore CPM Runner Up 1,45,894 32% 0
1989
Anil Shastri JD Winner 2,68,196 62% 1,71,603
Shyam Lal Yadav INC Runner Up 96,593 22% 0
1984
Shyam Lal Yadava INC Winner 1,53,076 42% 94,430
Udal CPI Runner Up 58,646 16% 0
1980
Kamalapati INC(I) Winner 1,29,063 37% 24,735
Raj Narain JNP(S) Runner Up 1,04,328 30% 0
1977
Chandra Shekher BLD Winner 2,33,194 66% 1,71,854
Raja Ram INC Runner Up 61,340 17% 0
1971
Raja Ram Shastri INC Winner 1,38,789 47% 85,848
Kamla Prasad Singh BJS Runner Up 52,941 18% 0
1967
S. N. Singh CPM Winner 1,05,784 38% 18,167
R. Singh INC Runner Up 87,617 31% 0
1962
Raghunath Singh INC Winner 1,04,682 40% 45,907
Raghuvira JS Runner Up 58,775 22% 0
1957
Raghunath Singh INC Winner 1,31,087 54% 71,926
Sheomangal Ram IND Runner Up 59,161 25% 0
+ More Details

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