Campaigning will end this evening for the ninth and final phase of Lok Sabha elections. 41 Constituencies – 17 in West Bengal, 6 in Bihar and 18 in Uttar Pradesh, including Varanasi where the contest is between Narendra Modi and Arvind Kejriwal, will go to the polls on Monday.
Electioneering is at its peak, as top leaders of Congress, BJP, AAP, TMC, RJD, JD(U), LJP and independents are out to woo the voters.
In Uttar Pradesh, days after Narendra Modi took on Rahul Gandhi in Amethi, the Congress Vice President today retaliated by campaigning in the temple town of Varanasi, where the BJP's Prime Ministerial candidate is in the fray. Donning a Gandhi cap, the 43-year-old leader flanked by Congress candidate Ajay Rai began his road show in a Muslim-dominated Gol Gadda area. Several senior leaders and star campaigners including Union Minister Gulam Nabi Azad and Rashid Alvi accompanied him. Large numbers of people were following him, carrying tricolor party flags and raising slogans.
The family members of late Shehnai maestro Ustad Bismillah Khan played Shehnai during Rahul Gandhi's road show.
Earlier, the family had refused to become a proposer for Narendra Modi when he had filed nomination for the Varanasi Lok Sabha seat.
Criticizing the EC for not granting permission for the road show, BJP leader Arun Jaitley alleged that the Election Commission is biased. He has said that Rahul Gandhi’s road show is happening in the same area of Varanasi where his party was not allowed to hold a rally. He said this clearly shows that it was only due to political reasons why BJP wasn’t given the permission to hold a rally.
BJP had held massive protests against the Election Commission in Varanasi and Delhi for not allowing Modi to hold a rally in Beniyabagh citing security reasons.
Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad said that BJP was given the necessary permissions to campaign but they made a show out of it unnecessarily.
In Bihar, though national level leaders are not campaigning today, state level political stalwarts are making last minute efforts to woo the voters.
In West Bengal, prominent leaders of all major political parties are now busy with door- to- door campaigns and road shows.
