Be it BJP prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi or AAP convener Arvind Kejriwal, both have parachuted to Varanasi for their epic battle in the Lok Sabha elections. Political pundits are of the opinion that while one is attempting to consolidate the Hindu voter base, the other is trying to position himself as an effective primary opposition. It is unlikely that Kejriwal will be able to pip Modi but even a defeat will ensure that AAP fills the vacuum created by Congress as an opposition to the Gujarat chief minister.
"We are now in a position to challenge the political fixing. Till date we have seen that BJP won't put up anyone strong against Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi. Similarly, the Congress won't even dream of putting up a strong candidate against LK Advani Our fight is systemic but not personality-based. We are up against both the national political parties," AAP spokesperson Rahul Mehra told CNN-IBN during a panel discussion.
Varanasi: AAP convener Arvind Kejriwal addresses a public rally in Varanasi on Tuesday. PTI
Although the BJP admitted that the fight is symbolic in nature, it did not attach much importance to the contest as a whole.
"The contest is not between parties but performance and tamasha (antics). Modi is a national player unlike Kejriwal. Kejriwal spent 49 days in Delhi, two days in Maharashtra, one day in Uttar Pradesh... it is like he is doing a crash course for power," said BJP spokesperson Sambit Mahapatra.
But senior journalist Tavleen Singh felt that it was a smart move by Kejriwal.
"Had he not taken on Modi, the AAP would have been ignored in these polls. AAP is playing in these elections. He wants to be the chief opposition against Modi. This space has already been conceded by the Congress," Singh said.
Taking on both the BJP and the Aam Aadmi Party, the Congress mounted the dual attack while defending its delay on announcing its candidate from Varanasi.
"The fight for Varanasi is a symbolic fight. Why is the BJP so worried about the Congress candidate in Varanasi? Even LK Advani's name appeared in the fifth list whilke we announced the names of Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi in the first list itself. And regarding AAP, it suffers from serious intolerance diosorder. AAP is more on to gimmick," said Congress spokesperson CR Kesavan.
However, there is also the perception that Modi must start answering tough questions that Kejriwal is posing. His avoidance of the media and remaining mum is something that Kejriwal is trying to exploit.
"There is no question that Kejriwal will be slaughtered. But at the same time he is also posing some interestijg questions before Modi. Kejriwal is doing the job of the media right now. The media should be grateful to him. If his numbers are all correct I don't understand why Modi avoids interviews. Even Rahul Gandhi took the plunge gave a couple of them recently," said Outlook Group, editorial chairman, Vinod Mehta.
Singh also agreed with the Outlook Group editorial chairman.
"This trend of silence was started by Sonia Gandhi and Manmohan Singh. Narendra Modi must answer some questions. He is obliged to answer some questions," she said.
The BJP did not accede that Modi was unresponsive all these years.
"Modi has been continually answering in a democracy. He has continuously answered to the people he has to answer, in this case the voters. But he need not respond to AAP. The nuisance factor is best avoided," Patra said.
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