Opinion | Battle for Benaras: David vs Goliath or just much ado about nothing?

Shekhar Iyer

The buzz about Priyanka Gandhi Vadra contesting from Varanasi against Prime Minister Narendra Modi has raised the stakes in the so-called Battle for Benaras (as the ancient city along the Ganges was known). A section of the Congress is pushing for it as Rahul Gandhi is contesting from a second seat —Wayanad in Kerala—in addition to Amethi. Some party workers see Priyanka vs Modi as a counter to the BJP’s argument that Rahul Gandhi has run away from Uttar Pradesh.

The buzz has gained strength after Priyanka’s boat-ride campaign along the villages of the Ganges. If indeed Priyanka does contest, it would show that her entry into politics is for the long haul and for reviving the Congress in the Hindi heartland.

Still, a more serious contender for Varanasi is Chandrashekhar Azad, a self-styled chief of a Dalit militant group called Bhim Army. On March 15, he announced that he would contest against Modi in Varanasi. Azad said this at a rally in Delhi’s Jantar Mantar to mark the 85th birth anniversary of Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) founder Kanshi Ram.

Azad is confident that he can upset Modi in Varanasi; in 2014, the PM defeated his nearest rival, Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal, by more than 337,000 votes.

Can Azad really change voter equations in Varanasi, which has seen a lot of changes since Modi adopted India’s oldest city as his home ground?  Will it be a David versus Goliath bout or much ado about nothing?

Undoubtedly, Varanasi has a lot of voters who are Dalits; they account for 13 percent of the population. Most Dalits are said to be followers of 14th-15th century mystic Guru Ravidass who was born in the Chamar community in Varanasi.

Azad’s Volte-face

Till he declared his intention to contest, Azad’s Bhim Army had been saying that it won’t contest elections and would have no truck with any political party including the Congress. Some Bhim Army activists fear a dilution of its “non-political” character. Indeed, the Bhim Army had even welcomed the SP-BSP alliance in the state, saying it would support anyone who’s ready to take on the BJP and fight for Dalit rights.

But of late, Azad has been critical of Mayawati as well as Akhilesh Yadav. The Bhim Army chief had also appeared to rule out working with the Congress and said that the party had not done anything for Dalits in the last 70 years.

“The BJP and the Congress are two sides of the same coin,” he said.

But Azad’s tune seems to have changed after his meeting with Priyanka who visited him at a Meerut hospital on March 13. Even though Priyanka said no political matters were discussed, there has been speculation that the Congress may push for Azad to be a joint Opposition candidate.

Azad’s decision to contest from Varanasi has surprised some political observers because his Bhim Army is largely a Western Uttar Pradesh outfit, which came into prominence challenging the domination of Rajputs in the Saharanpur belt. This led to riots in May 2017 in which two Dalits and a Rajput were killed.

Azad was arrested after the clashes. He was granted bail by the Allahabad High Court but the UP Police arrested him under the stringent National Security Act. He was released in September 2018 after 16 months in jail. The Yogi Adityanath government apparently withdrew the NSA hoping to douse the rising anger within the Dalit community.

A New Dalit Icon

Initially, Azad offered to work with Mayawati, but she spurned him, perhaps fearing that he might replace her as the sole claimant of Dalit votes. Like Mayawati, Azad is a Jatav. She will never encourage another Jatav to flourish, say old time BSP leaders.

Azad has decided to challenge Mayawati’s leadership of Dalits by joining hands with Kanshi Ram’s sister Swarn Kaur who is opposed to the BSP chief. His four-day march from Saharanpur earlier this month was stopped by the police in Deoband who arrested him allegedly for violating the model code of conduct. He was admitted to a Meerut hospital after fainting during an altercation with the police.

Mayawati feels that Priyanka is encouraging Azad to cut her influence after she ruled out any alliance with the Congress anywhere in the country. For Azad, fighting against Modi is not just about contesting the PM, but also about establishing himself as the next generation icon for Dalits.

A development agenda

Knowing the fluctuating moods of Varanasi, Modi has been regularly addressing several development issues in the city and nearby areas in the last four years.

Last February, Modi had attended an event to mark the Guru Ravidass Jayanti at Janamasthan, which is an important place of Dalit pilgrimage. The PM had announced handsome grants to develop the area.

Local BJP leaders do not fear a big challenge from Azad or any other common opposition nominee. But they do fear that the Dalit support for Modi should not get eroded.

The BJP has won from Varanasi six out of seven times between 1991 and 2014, losing only in 2004 when the Congress won. The defeat of the saffron party in the temple city was credited to upper caste voters backing local Congress leader Rajesh Mishra, who also got minority and Dalit support. The election in Varanasi constituency will be held on the last day, May 19. That may decide Azad’s future as well as that of other Dalit youths for whom he remains a less-sung hero.