The Congress party has decided to field Ajay Rai against PM Modi in Varanasi Lok Sabha constituency. This has brought down curtains on speculation over Priyanka Gandhi entering the election fray from here. Ajay Rai also contested against Modi in 2014. He stood in third place at that time as Aam Aadmi party leader Aravind Kejriwal stood in second place.

Till today, there are high expectations among Congress cadres about Priyanka Gandhi contesting in Varanasi. Even the Congress allies have expected this to increase the winning chances of their candidates all over North India. Rahul Gandhi also didn’t initially rule out the possibility of selecting Priyanka. Finally, the Congress sprang a surprise by opting out of this proposal. Priyanka is currently the general secretary of the party and she is busy campaigning for the victory of the party candidates.