Blow to BJP? SP Fields Ex-BSF Jawan Tej Bahadur in Modi’s Varanasi

Tej Bahadur’s nomination, at the eleventh hour, has charged up the electoral atmosphere in Varanasi ahead of polls.

(Photo: Altered by The Quint)

(Update: The Election Commission has issued a notice to Tej Bahadur Yadav, challenging his nomination. The commission has asked for his reply by 1 May, else his nomination might get cancelled. Read the full story here.)

In a bid to outdo the political maneuvering of the BJP in Uttar Pradesh, the Samajwadi Party on Monday, 29 April, nominated former BSF constable Tej Bahadur Yadav as its candidate against Prime Minister Narendra Modi from Varanasi.

The former Border Security Force (BSF) soldier had uploaded a video on social media in 2017, complaining about the sub-standard quality of food being served to the troops, following which he was let go of.

The announcement, made on the last day of filing nominations, has created quite the stir in political circles and among the BJP cadre.

SP chief Akhilesh Yadav, it seems, has inherited more than the political legacy of father Mulayam Singh, as pointed in this Quint Hindi report. He seems to be following the footsteps of his father, who is known for his political acuity.

The nomination, at the eleventh hour, has charged up the electoral atmosphere in Varanasi – considered to be a bastion of PM Modi.

Priyanka Out... Tej In

The move assumes added significance given the Congress party’s decision to not go with its star campaigner, Priyanka Gandhi, as the candidate from the politically significant constituency, but with local strongman Ajay Rai instead.

The grand alliance in UP, between SP-BSP-RLD, had earlier backed a lightweight candidate, Shalini Yadav, in anticipation that the Congress might field its general secretary, Priyanka, from the seat, Business Standard reported.

However, once the Congress fielded Rai, the report added, the SP made a last-minute switch to Tej Bahadur, who had already filed his nomination as an Independent.

"I was sacked for raising the issue of corruption. My sole objective will be to strengthen and eliminate corruption in the forces," Yadav had told reporters when asked about the SP’s decision to field him.

Varanasi, a Repeat of Gorakhpur

Just like Varanasi, Akhilesh Yadav had spoiled the BJP's electoral game in Gorakhpur as well, the Quint Hindi report added.

The SP leader had foiled Yogi Adityanath’s move to bring the Nishad Party into its fold from the SP-BSP-RLD alliance, by giving a ticket to Ram Bhuwal Nishad – a leader of the same community represented by the nascent party.

The Nishad Party had gained prominence after it had ended Adityanath’s unchallenged reign of two decades in Gorakhpur after the 2018 bypoll.

This forced the BJP to field Bhojpuri star Ravi Kishan, considered to be an ‘outsider’ to the constituency.

Tej’s nomination might end up hurting Modi’s vote share, given it directly cuts into the BJP’s nationalism and pro-army electoral plank.

(With inputs from Quint Hindi, Business Standard, PTI)