Let the Shiv Sena parliamentarian Sanjay Raut predict from so far away that Priyanka Gandhi can win the Varanasi seat in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, but people on the ground think otherwise.
Prayagraj based senior journalist Sunil Shukla said that the Congress Party has no presence in Varanasi. In fact the Congress Party has neglected the entire state of Uttar Pradesh (UP) for decades.
By being absent, and estranged, from its cadre on the ground and its practice of Delhi centric politics, the Congress has succeeded in presenting the state on a platter to the ruling party.
A voter told The Citizen “no we don’t want either the ruling party, or Priyanka Gandhi in Varanasi. What Varanasi needs is jobs for its youth, justice and traffic control in the city. It is painful for the city to be sandwiched in between this politician or that”.
The main grudge against Priyanka is that after the 2022 state Assembly elections which the Congress lost, Priyanka has not been seen anywhere in UP.
Journalist Shweta R. Rashmi feels that Priyanka Gandhi is out of touch with the problems of the people of Varanasi. Areas in eastern UP are totally neglected. The people suffer rampant corruption and lawlessness is scary.
What does Priyanka Gandhi have to say to the people of UP who are reeling under rising prices of vegetables and other essential commodities? Nothing, except to ask for votes to make her win.
The problems faced by Varanasi are multiple. In the face of real problems, how can Priyanka Gandhi’s husband Robert Vadra say that she should be in the Lok Sabha?
“She has all the qualifications for it. She would be very good in Parliament and she deserves to be there. I hope that the Congress party accepts and plans better for her,” Vadra had said. Congress leader and former Uttarakhand chief minister Harish Rawat added that Priyanka Gandhi has both the potential to win and to make the party win. Why, and how, question voters.
In the last Lok Sabha election in 2019, it was speculated that Priyanka Gandhi would contest from Varanasi but finally the Congress had fielded Ajay Rai who came third in the contest. “Varanasi people want Priyanka Gandhi. It's my view. If Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi fights from Varanasi then she will be elected for sure,” Raut said recently making a local voter say that the Shiv Sena surely wants the Congress to commit political suicide.
Political analysts advise that the priority of the Congress should be to regain the Lok Sabha seats of Amethi, Raebareli and Sultanpur.
Priyanka Gandhi can win the elections from Varanasi only when voters see her in their midst consistently and working hard to add value to their present day miserable existence.
Gandhians In Tears
The people in Varanasi are in pain today for more reasons than one. In a distressing turn of events the historic Sadhna Kendra, established with the visionary inspiration of Sant Vinoba Bhave has been bulldozed.
At least 12 buildings on the premises of Sarva Seva Sangh, located near Rajghat in Varanasi are no more. The Sarva Seva Sangh was established by Acharya Vinoba Bhave in 1948.
Protesters came out on streets to condemn the move to wipe out the Gandhian institute and raised slogans in praise of leaders like Mahatma Gandhi, Jai Prakash Narayan, Vinoba Bhave as they marched from the Lok Samiti office to the Ambedkar Park.
Varanasi Convener and senior Gandhian Ramdhiraj said that the historic printing centre, library, two large halls, meditation hall, children’s learning centre, guest house, and offices have all been bulldozed.
Gandhians are in tears. They do not mourn the bulldozing of mere buildings but the legacy of Acharya Vinoba, JP Narayan, and Gandhi.
Former Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shashtri had referred to the Sarva Seva Sangh premises as a temple of Acharya Vinoba. Since its inception, this place has been a hub of the ideals of Gandhi, JP and Vinoba.
Nandlal Master who led the sit-in protest said the buildings are bulldozed to obliterate the ideas of Gandhi. He along with all like-minded citizens are determined to establish even more centres like this one.
The promise is to publish more books and restore libraries that have been destroyed. The plan is to engage with the public, to convey the truth and to continue the fight for democracy.
The Sarva Seva Sangh was established by Acharya Vinoba Bhave in 1948 to propagate Gandhi’s ideas and philosophy and had inspired the socialist leader Jayaprakash Narayan.
A senior administrative official disclosed that six bulldozers from the Northern Railway were employed for the demolition due to a long term legal dispute between the Sangh and Northern Railways over the ownership of land.
The Sangh had approached the Allahabad High Court and then the Supreme Court, seeking a stay on the demolition, but failed to secure relief.
The Bulldozer
Concerned citizens call the bulldozer a way for the ruling to circumvent the law and institutions in order to realise its political agenda. In many ruling party-governed states, especially in northern India, demolition drives have become a means to crush dissent.
Today the bulldozer is elevated to a ‘nationalist symbol’, appearing during election victories, in parade floats and as tattoos. The bulldozer stands for quick justice today over riding debates, discussions and trials by law.
The Poor Rich Vegetable Vendor
Rameshwar, the vegetable vendor from Delhi’s Azadpur wholesale market is originally from UP. Rameshwar was in the news recently for talking about his state of poverty to a reporter online.
What Rameshwar told the reporter about the ruined state of his small business had made audiences cry. When Congress leader Rahul Gandhi saw the video clip, he had invited Rameshwar to his home for lunch.
Rameshwar said that he was fed-up with poverty in his Western UP village of Kasgunj and had migrated to Delhi about a decade ago in the hope of a better life for his family. On a good day he was even able to earn Rs 1,000 but today he is penniless due to the skyrocketing price of tomatoes.
Despite empty pockets, Rameshwar’s wealth is his ready smile. After meeting Rahul Gandhi to thank him for taking time out to listen to the cries of the vegetable vendors of Azadpur market, he says that he has no other wish in life now. “Just meeting Rahul Gandhi sir”, he smiled, is enough to make him feel rich for the rest of his life.