The Congres occasion fielded former BJP chief and its Uttar Pradesh unit chief Ajay Rai to tackle Prime Minister Narendra Modi within the upcoming Lok Sabha polls from Varanasi for the third time.

A veteran political chief from Uttar Pradesh, Rai challenged PM Modi within the 2014 and 2019 Lok Sabha elections as properly from Varanasi however misplaced each occasions.

Who is Ajay Rai?

Ajay Rai, a distinguished chief in Uttar Pradesh politics is at present the pinnacle of Congress’s UP unit and holds robust affect within the state, one of many prime causes behind his candidature from Varanasi regardless of fixed losses.

A former BJP chief, Rai started his profession with the RSS scholar wing ABVP and received the UP legislative meeting elections from the Kolasla constituency thrice in a row between 1996 and 2007 on a BJP ticket.

After being denied a ticket, Rai ditched the BJP to affix the Samajwadi Party because the saffron occasion picked veteran chief Murli Manohar Joshi as its Lok Sabha candidate from Varanasi. He then misplaced the election towards Joshi.

In 2012, Rai joined the Congress and received the UP meeting elections from the Pindra constituency. In 2017, Rai misplaced the state election from Pindra as a Congress candidate.

In the final Lok Sabha polls, Rai secured the third place from the Varansai seat by bagging just one.52 lakh votes. He bought a vote share of 14.38 per cent towards PM Modi’s vote share of 63.62 per cent.

Congress named Rai as the brand new president of the Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee (UPCC), changing Dalit chief Brijlal Khabri, in August 2023.

Rai is from the Bhumihar neighborhood, which has some affect and political weight in sure pockets of jap Uttar Pradesh. Purvanchal as soon as was once a Congress stronghold, however now’s dominated by the BJP

Why Congress Fielded Ajay Rai Against PM Modi?

Rai’s appointment as of the Congress occasion was all about giving the occasion a recent begin from the bottom degree in Uttar Pradesh, the place he enjoys vital help and affect.

Rai’s contribution throughout the Congress’s Bharat Jodo and Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra – which predominantly convey the message of the occasion taking to the streets to hearken to the widespread folks, Ajai Rai’s candidature may be seen in sync with the identical. The occasion needs somebody who can tackle PM Modi as a complete in Uttar Pradesh.

The Congress on Saturday launched its fourth record of 45 candidates for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls fielding veteran chief Digvijaya Singh from Madhya Pradesh’s Rajgarh and newly-inducted chief Lal Singh from Jammu and Kashmir’s Udhampur to tackle Union minister Jitendra Singh.