LUCKNOW: In a surprise tactical move to counter the BJP’s narrative, which is built around muscular nationalism, the Samajwadi Party (SP) on Monday replaced its Varanasi candidate Shalini Yadav with former Border Security Force (BSF) jawan Tej Bahadur Yadav, pitting him in a direct contest against Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Yadav, who was sacked by the BSF in 2017 after posting a video on social media complaining about the quality of food served to the personnel, had publicly evinced his wish to fight Modi.
With the Congress shying from fielding Priyanka Gandhi in the seat and handing a fresh ticket to Ajai Rai, a relative lightweight who was humbled by the PM in the 2014 polls, the SP, through Yadav’s candidature, has tried to put together a ‘Jawan vs Chowkidar’ narrative, in the temple town of Kashi.
Modi drew dizzying numbers while leading a grand road show last week before filing his nomination in the presence of top leaders of all the NDA allies.Moments after being handed an SP ticket, Yadav said, “I am the real Chowkidar. My fight is for our farmers and jawans.”The glint of confidence in his eyes was hard to miss as he filed his nomination papers on Monday.