Sunday Oct 06, 2024
Sunday Oct 06, 2024
Monday, 17 March 2014 00:27 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
BJP leader Anant Kumar declared the names of senior party leaders and their respective constituencies in a press conference in New Delhi on Saturday (15 March).
“The Central Election Committee of the party has decided that the party’s prime ministerial candidate, Narendra Modi, will contest from Varanasi constituency, party president Rajnath Singh will contest from Lucknow, former party President Murli Manohar Joshi will contest from Kanpur constituency and leader of the opposition in the upper house of the parliament, Arun Jaitley will contest from Amritsar constituency,” said Kumar.
Reportedly, differences have cropped up between Modi and BJP senior leader Murali Manohar Joshi over the Varanasi seat.
Elated Modi supporters in Varanasi in India’s northern Uttar Pradesh immediately took to streets with pro Modi slogans to celebrate over the nomination of candidates.
“We are expressing our happiness as Modi has been selected to represent Varanasi constituency. Varanasi has been tired of selecting MPs (members of parliament) but this time we would elect the PM (prime minister),” said a Modi supporter, Swaroop Jaiswal.
Another important constituency of the state, Lucknow exhibited the same show with supporters celebrating on streets with Modi banners and party flags.
Modi and his supporters have kicked off a major campaign ahead of the general elections to woo voters.
To his detractors, Modi’s reign is overshadowed by Hindu-Muslim riots that tore through Gujarat in 2002, killing 1,000 to 2,000 people. Critics accuse him of not having done enough to stop the violence, or even quietly encouraging it. However, he denies these allegations strenuously.
But that has not stopped him from winning successive elections, touting his credentials as an effective economic manager in contrast to the policy drift in New Delhi that has helped drag India’s economic growth to its worst pace in a decade.
India’s mammoth parliamentary election will start on 7 April, the Election Commission announced on Wednesday (5 March), kicking off a race that will pit BJP leader Narendra Modi against the unpopular Nehru-Gandhi family’s ruling Congress party.
Indian media often presents the 2014 elections as a face-off between Vice-President of ruling Congress party, Rahul Gandhi, best known for his famous last name, and Narendra Modi, who has been lauded by Indian corporate leaders and foreign companies for his business-friendly policies in western state Gujarat.
BJP’s strong showing in the recent polls in four states has boosted the momentum for Modi in the run-up to the national election due by May 2014.
Given India’s diverse and fragmented electorate, neither Modi nor Rahul is expected to win the 272 seats needed for an outright majority. The biggest party will seek to form a coalition with regional parties.
