Interview: Ajai Rai: Varanasi insider hopes to beat Modi and Kejriwal
May 1, 2014
Varanasi: In the most watched contest of the world’s largest elections, there is one Varanasi insider who hopes to beat two larger-than-life national leaders. The Congress party’s Ajai Rai is a five-time MLA and local strongman: he says that neither Narendra Modi and Arvind Kejriwal know the pulse and the people of this historic city, only he does.
On a sweltering morning I joined him in Vidyapeeth block on the fringes of the city, where he was on a door-to-door campaign. Sipping on the sweet, milky tea with some residents, Mr Rai was the consummate local, the one candidate who knows many of his voters by name. But the challenge for him is converting this personal familiarity into votes, against two opponents whose familiarity come through television and their national stature.
Ajai Rai’s campaign has been bolstered by the support of jailed local don Mukhtar Ansari, who commands a sizable chunk of the city’s 300,000 strong Muslim vote. Mr Ansari and Mr Rai have been sworn enemies, with Mr Ansari even accused of killing Mr Rai’s brother Avadesh. But this week Mr Ansari said he was supporting Mr Rai to prevent Narendra Modi from winning the seat. Mr Rai says he does not need Mr Ansari’s support.
These are edited excerpts from the interview with Ajai Rai on his campaign trail.
On the local anti-incumbency
“The results of Varanasi will stun everyone,” Mr Rai told me. “I am a local and know the city and its people. I am with them when they need me. Varanasi is tired of the outsiders, we want to do away with the parachute MP culture; I will put an end to this culture.”
From the side, one of his supporters chipped in: “What did Murli Manohar Joshi (Varanasi’s outgoing MP) do for us?” he complained. “See the roads of the city, there is no garbage management, he knew he will lose from the seat and that’s why he fled. Mr Rai is a dhartiputra (son of the soil) and he will maul his opponents, the city now hates outsiders.”
Even as his party battles a national anti-incumbency, Mr Rai is hoping to cash in on what his supporters claim is a local anti-incumbency against the BJP. “The MP of the city belonged to BJP, the mayor is from the BJP, they have MLAs here, but where is the development?” he asked. “Modi talks about development. If you want to see development, go to my constituency (Pindra, which was Kolasla before delimitation), you will come to know. No outsider can understand the need of this city, I belong to the city and know what needs to be done.”
On Manmohan Singh’s absence from his hoardings
The huge hoardings put up by the Congress candidate has pictures of himself, and the Gandhi family (Sonia, Rahul and Priyanka) but the prime minister is conspicuously missing from the posters. Mr Rai, when he was quizzed on this, first tried to shrug it off, and later gave a vague reply.
“The party president and the vice president are the public face and they have bigger appeal with voters,” he said. “We also have some campaign material with the pictures of the PM. But yes, the hoarding focus on the leaders who have a direct connect with the electorate.”
He is also hoping for some star power to come to his help. “Priyanka Gandhi is also likely to come to Varanasi and that would have a great impact on the elections and the electorate,” he added.
On Modi: “I am not a helicopter neta”
“Have you seen how the BJP prime minister candidate dresses, the brand of watch he wears?” he asked. “They have pumped in a lot of money. Why does the media showing only Narendra Modi, there must be some reason behind it?”
The Congress candidate hardly does any jansabhas as he thinks they don’t have any effect. “I prefer one-on-one meetings with workers and people, that has a lot of impact,” he said. “My personal meetings with the people of the city has laid a strong foundation, I prefer engagement with the people rather than a one sided speech from the stage. I am not a helicopter neta who speaks from the stage and flies off.”
On Arvind Kejriwal: “He is not a factor”
“Kejriwal is here just to make things easy for Modi by dividing the minority votes,” he said, speaking on the Aam Aadmi Party leader’s foray into the city. “He is not a factor here, his attempt will fail. He knows nothing about the city and runs his campaign on the advice of a handful of people. I challenge him to name even ten roads, ghats or villages.”
On the Muslim vote: “They are yet to make up their mind”
“They will take a decision only after the first week of May it seems and will go with the candidate who is strongest against Modi,” said Mr Rai. “And I think they know who that is.”
He added that Mukhtar Ansari, the Quami Ekta Dal leader who has now thrown his weight behind him, does not command much influence over the Muslim vote. “I don’t need him by my side,” he said. “The voters will speak.”
Mr Rai also shrugged off media reports of his alleged involvement in gunrunning and connections with the now jailed former MP of Siwan Mohammad Sahabuddin. “It’s a conspiracy of the BJP,” he retorted. “The report one channel talked off is quite old and if I was named why was no action taken against me.”
May 1, 2014
Varanasi: In the most watched contest of the world’s largest elections, there is one Varanasi insider who hopes to beat two larger-than-life national leaders. The Congress party’s Ajai Rai is a five-time MLA and local strongman: he says that neither Narendra Modi and Arvind Kejriwal know the pulse and the people of this historic city, only he does.
On a sweltering morning I joined him in Vidyapeeth block on the fringes of the city, where he was on a door-to-door campaign. Sipping on the sweet, milky tea with some residents, Mr Rai was the consummate local, the one candidate who knows many of his voters by name. But the challenge for him is converting this personal familiarity into votes, against two opponents whose familiarity come through television and their national stature.
Ajai Rai’s campaign has been bolstered by the support of jailed local don Mukhtar Ansari, who commands a sizable chunk of the city’s 300,000 strong Muslim vote. Mr Ansari and Mr Rai have been sworn enemies, with Mr Ansari even accused of killing Mr Rai’s brother Avadesh. But this week Mr Ansari said he was supporting Mr Rai to prevent Narendra Modi from winning the seat. Mr Rai says he does not need Mr Ansari’s support.
These are edited excerpts from the interview with Ajai Rai on his campaign trail.
On the local anti-incumbency
“The results of Varanasi will stun everyone,” Mr Rai told me. “I am a local and know the city and its people. I am with them when they need me. Varanasi is tired of the outsiders, we want to do away with the parachute MP culture; I will put an end to this culture.”
From the side, one of his supporters chipped in: “What did Murli Manohar Joshi (Varanasi’s outgoing MP) do for us?” he complained. “See the roads of the city, there is no garbage management, he knew he will lose from the seat and that’s why he fled. Mr Rai is a dhartiputra (son of the soil) and he will maul his opponents, the city now hates outsiders.”
Even as his party battles a national anti-incumbency, Mr Rai is hoping to cash in on what his supporters claim is a local anti-incumbency against the BJP. “The MP of the city belonged to BJP, the mayor is from the BJP, they have MLAs here, but where is the development?” he asked. “Modi talks about development. If you want to see development, go to my constituency (Pindra, which was Kolasla before delimitation), you will come to know. No outsider can understand the need of this city, I belong to the city and know what needs to be done.”
On Manmohan Singh’s absence from his hoardings
The huge hoardings put up by the Congress candidate has pictures of himself, and the Gandhi family (Sonia, Rahul and Priyanka) but the prime minister is conspicuously missing from the posters. Mr Rai, when he was quizzed on this, first tried to shrug it off, and later gave a vague reply.
“The party president and the vice president are the public face and they have bigger appeal with voters,” he said. “We also have some campaign material with the pictures of the PM. But yes, the hoarding focus on the leaders who have a direct connect with the electorate.”
He is also hoping for some star power to come to his help. “Priyanka Gandhi is also likely to come to Varanasi and that would have a great impact on the elections and the electorate,” he added.
On Modi: “I am not a helicopter neta”
“Have you seen how the BJP prime minister candidate dresses, the brand of watch he wears?” he asked. “They have pumped in a lot of money. Why does the media showing only Narendra Modi, there must be some reason behind it?”
The Congress candidate hardly does any jansabhas as he thinks they don’t have any effect. “I prefer one-on-one meetings with workers and people, that has a lot of impact,” he said. “My personal meetings with the people of the city has laid a strong foundation, I prefer engagement with the people rather than a one sided speech from the stage. I am not a helicopter neta who speaks from the stage and flies off.”
On Arvind Kejriwal: “He is not a factor”
“Kejriwal is here just to make things easy for Modi by dividing the minority votes,” he said, speaking on the Aam Aadmi Party leader’s foray into the city. “He is not a factor here, his attempt will fail. He knows nothing about the city and runs his campaign on the advice of a handful of people. I challenge him to name even ten roads, ghats or villages.”
On the Muslim vote: “They are yet to make up their mind”
“They will take a decision only after the first week of May it seems and will go with the candidate who is strongest against Modi,” said Mr Rai. “And I think they know who that is.”
He added that Mukhtar Ansari, the Quami Ekta Dal leader who has now thrown his weight behind him, does not command much influence over the Muslim vote. “I don’t need him by my side,” he said. “The voters will speak.”
Mr Rai also shrugged off media reports of his alleged involvement in gunrunning and connections with the now jailed former MP of Siwan Mohammad Sahabuddin. “It’s a conspiracy of the BJP,” he retorted. “The report one channel talked off is quite old and if I was named why was no action taken against me.”
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This story was first published in www.thepoliticalindian.com on May 1,
2014
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