Varanasi battle with Narendra Modi; Ajay Rai not even in contest: Arvind Kejriwal

Varanasi: Exuding confidence about the performance of his party in the Varanasi constituency, Aam Aadmi Party’s chief Arvind Kejriwal on Monday said that AAP will win from here.

Pitted against Bharatiya Janata Party’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi from here, Kejriwal discarded Congress’s candidate Ajay Rai even from the race. “There is a two-way fight between me and Narendra Modi in Varanasi,” added Kejriwal.

Voting in the Hindu holy city is underway.

Speaking to reporters outside a polling booth, Kejriwal said that people should come out in large numbers and vote, while similar appeal was made by Modi also through a tweet.

The AAP chief further said the man who has been projected by the BJP as its PM hopeful is losing from reputedly the most ancient living city on earth.

Kejriwal also said he would not talk further as he can be accused of violating poll code.

Meanwhile, questions were raised about presence of AAP leader Manish Sisodia in Varanasi, as all outsiders involved with poll campaign, excluding the candidates, are not allowed to remain within the constituency after campaigning stopped on evening of May 10.

Modi, the Gujarat chief minister, chose Varanasi as his second seat in a bid to strengthen his image of a national leader. He is also contesting from Vadodara.