The Congress party on Tuesday fielded local MLA Ajay Rai against Narendra Modi in the Varanasi Lok Sabha seat, plumping for a local nominee over leaders such as Digvijay Singh, who had offered to contest from there.
“Rai is a grassroots worker, a sitting Congress MLA, and has fought a number of elections successfully. He will be the best candidate in Varanasi,” said party spokesman Randeep Surjewala.
AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal is also in the running for the Varanasi Lok Sabha seat.
“Rai can ably lead people in Varanasi and he has been fully acquainted with the problems faced by them”, Surjewala said in reply to a volley of questions over the candidature and as to why the Congress had overlooked offers from senior leaders such as Digvijay Singh, Anand Sharma and Rashid Alvi.