Just a month ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, the Bharatiya Janata is still hunting for a seat for its prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi in Uttar Pradesh. Sources suggested that Modi may now contest from Lucknow or Allahabad if he decides to contest from Uttar Pradesh at all. The development comes a day ahead of the party’s Central Election Committee meet where the second list of candidates is likely to be released.
There were reports that Modi might contest from senior Murli Manohar Joshi’s Varanasi seat but he was reluctant to give up his seat. It was also believed that Joshi would be moved to Kanpur seat but senior party leader Kalraj Mishra was eyeing the Kanpur seat.
Sources said that Joshi was confident that he will contest from the seat and no one from the BJP has officially broached the subject of him moving out of Varanasi.
On Monday, Joshi went to his constituency and held a meeting with his supporters to press for his credentials for contesting from Varanasi. Even though Joshi has stated that he will follow the party’s dictate, he made his displeasure known to all.
Joshi had earlier sent out a subtle message to the party leadership by saying it should keep in mind the winnability aspect besides the “prestige” of the prime ministerial candidate while taking a decision.
