Congress's Ajai Rai to take on Modi in Varanasi?

While the Congress party is yet to officially announce who they will field against BJP’s PM candidate Narendra Modi in the temple town of Varanasi, media reports have speculated that Congress MLA Ajai Rai has emerged as the front-runner for the ticket. [caption id=“attachment_1460209” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] AFP[/caption] A report in The Indian Express quotes a senior Congress leader as saying that among the contenders for the post, Rai emerges as the strongest, especially as he is said to have a considerable support-base in the Brahmin and Bhumiar communities. “While Ajai Rai is of course there, we are also looking at the option of a Brahmin candidate. As of now, Rai stands a strong chance,” the party leader told the daily . While Congress General Secretary Digvijaya Singh, senior leader Rashid Alvi and Commerce Minister Anand Sharma have expressed their willingness to contest against Modi, the party is unlikely to take a chance and field an outsider given the anti-party sentiment against the BJP for denying their incumbent MP Murli Manohar Joshi, a ticket. The Economic Times reports  Rai has a better chance in tapping into this dissatisfaction than the Congress party’s 2009 candidate Rajesh Mishra. A Congress MLA from Pindra, Rai has been a five-time MLA and has switched parties twice. A former BJP man, Rai quit the party after he was denied a ticket for the 2009 polls. He then contested them on a SP ticket and finished third, behind BSP’s Mukhtar Ansari. Interestingly, Rai has reportedly had a long-standing feud with Ansari who will also contest against Modi, as an independent candidate. Also contesting against Narendra Modi is AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal, who announced his candidature after a referendum of sorts at a political rally in the holy city. Varanasi will go to polls on 12 May and counting for the Lok Sabha elections will be on 16 May.