Rajnath vs Lalji Tandon: Who'll represent Lucknow in Lok Sabha polls?

Lucknow: When the Bharatiya Janata Party’s prime minister hopeful Narendra Modi had held his much-awaited rally in Lucknow on 2 March, there was speculation among state leaders and workers as to the remarks of veteran Murli Manohar Joshi and party president Rajnath Singh. While Joshi was said to be digging his heels in Varanasi, Rajnath was known to be rooting for Lucknow. Singh in his address went about as expected. He propounded his love for Lucknow, the famed culture of Lucknow and the things he did as the chief minister of the state way back in 2000. These were indications enough of his affinity for Lucknow. But the Lucknow BJP veteran, Lalji Tandon, seems unimpressed. The most well-known face of the BJP in Lucknow for close to four decades, Tandon has been a member of Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council for two terms (1978-84) and MLA from Lucknow West for three terms, from 1996 to 2009. He was elected to the Lok Sabha from Lucknow in 2009 after former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee did not contest from here. Tandon has been known to be close to Vajpayee and has been instrumental in deciding the way the party goes, at least in Lucknow. A resident of Muslim-dominated Old Lucknow, he is a familiar name among residents of all communities. He is also known be among the most accessible leaders of the party, especially among the community comprising jewellers, chikan and wholesale traders. [caption id=“attachment_1428937” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Atal Bihar Vajpayee and Lalji Tandon in this file photo. Reuters[/caption] But suddenly, there is a prospect of him being denied this seat and he does not like it. “I have no differences with any senior party leaders,” he told the media on Monday and went on to add that he was ready to leave his seat for Modi if he decided to contest from Lucknow. But he appeared reluctant to do the same for Rajnath Singh. Even though Tandon said contesting the election was “not the aim of my life,” he pledged to do everything to ensure Modi’s win from Lucknow. He also denied having any knowledge of Rajnath Singh desirous of contesting from Lucknow. Tandon says he never told the party “that I want to contest from anywhere else,” giving clear indications that Lucknow is his favourite seat. In the end he said he will abide by the party’s decision in this regard. In 2009 also, there was long speculation after which Tandon was chosen as BJP candidate from Lucknow, amid reports that he wanted the ticket for his son Gopal Tandon. However, the party finally chose him. At that time, the name of Lucknow Mayor Dinesh Sharma had also been floated as the candidate from Lucknow. The BJP has managed to retain the Lucknow seat since 1991 and Vajpayee represented it from 1991 to 2004. However, in 2012 Assembly election, the BJP lost even the traditional BJP seat earlier represented by Tandon for years(now named Lucknow North) to the Samajwadi Party, and it holds only one of the five Assembly seats in Lucknow, represented by another party veteran Kalraj Mishra. “For Tandon, representing Lucknow in Lok Sabha is more of a prestige issue since the seat has the association with Vajpayee,” says Prof Rashmi Roy Choudhury, a former professor of Lucknow University who lives in the area formerly represented by Tandon as MLA. She expects the party not to sideline him in view of his seniority. Rajnath Singh on the other hand, had been MLA from Mirzapur in 1977 and later a member of the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council. He was defeated in subsequent Assembly elections, the last being from Mahona in Lucknow in 1993. He was the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh from 28 October 2000 to March 2002, during which period he won a by-election from Haidergarh assembly seat in Barabanki district adjacent to Lucknow. Singh was elected to Rajya Sabha in November 2002, after which he resigned from Haidergarh. He became MP from Ghaziabad in 2009. His desire to shift to Lucknow stems from reports that Aam Aadmi Party has growing influence in Ghaziabad and the seat may have become unsafe for BJP. Another report was that Singh wanted his son Pankaj Singh to contest from Ghaziabad. However, Rajnath Singh himself says it is for the party’s election committee to decide who contests from where. “Tandon has kept the BJP flag flying high for years and deserves to be given proper respect,” says Dilip Sinha, a trade union leader, even though he admits that ultimately it will be the party’s call. State BJP spokesman says the matter will be finally decided by the party’s election committee and all reports about any controversy in this regard were “baseless.” UP Congress spokesman Surendra Singh Rajput says the fact that an MP of BJP was not ready to give up his seat for his party’s national president indicates the “hunger for power” within the party. “Most of the senior party leaders do not know if they will contest the election at all, and if yes, from where,” he said. The controversy over the Lucknow arose even as the reports about Murli Manohar Joshi being reluctant to leave Varanasi for Modi were floating. Joshi had later clarified that he would not do anything that would hurt Modi’s prestige, and would accept party’s decision as a ‘disciplined soldier’. Seats in UP are most certain to put to a severe test the negotiating skills of top BJP leaders who will be attending the election committee meeting, slated for 13 March.