Varanasi, Mar 25: Aam Aadmi Party leader Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday reached Varanasi to win the hearts of the people of the city, which is considered the holiest in Hindu culture, to take on proclaimed Hindu 'hridaya samrat' Narendra Modi. On cards is an announcement that the poll pundits and electors are waiting for. Arvind Kejriwal, in a rally, would seek referendum on whether to contest the election against Modi from Varanasi or not. Experts believe, ayes would have it.
According to senior AAP leaders, Kejriwal will touch upon issues concerning the conservation of river Ganga, the emancipation of the weaver community and sewer issues that creates problems for residents of the holy city.
"We are going to focus on these three major issues (river-weaver and sewer) in Varanasi during our campaign," party leader and UP in-charge Sanjay Singh said.
Varanasi Lok Sabha constituency has five assembly segments of which three are urban- Varanasi North, Varanasi South and Varanasi Cantonment- while the other two Sevapuri and Rohaniya are rural. It is currently represented by senior BJP leader Murli Manohar Joshi in Parliament.
Pollution of rivers is a major issue here and it has also found place in party's local manifesto, which is being distributed ahead of Kejriwal's rally. "Do we want Ganga and other rivers to be a source of clean water and life?" the pamphlet, which is being distributed, states.
"Varansai has been named after Varuna and Assi rivers. More than 15-20 sewer lines are emptied in Ganga at the Assi ghat. Forget drinking, the water is not even fit for taking a bath," said Rakesh Pandey AAP's coordinator in Varanasi.
The party is also focusing on the plight of weavers community.
"They have a lot of problems that need to be looked into. No one has been able to solve their issues," Singh said.
The weavers, almost all belonging to the minority community, are scattered in North and South Varanasi. The area has a population of around 1.5 lakh voters, which the party intends to woo.The city also has a small powerloom industry.
The party also intends to hit the BJP in urban areas, where it has a sizeable number of voters and is planning to take on the saffron party by raising the issue of development and the bad sewer system in the city.
"The city has a BJP mayor, MLA and MP, but still the new sewer system built recently is in a bad shape. This leads to problems during monsoon," said Pandey.
Party sources said that by addressing these issues, the party intends to attract voters not only from different communities, but also from a varied social segments.
"We are trying to strike a fine balance by looking into these issues as it will hurt all the parties not only in urban parts of the constituency, but also the rural parts of Varanasi," said a local AAP leader.
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