The man, who will contest against Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi from the seat of Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh, Ajai Rai, was once part of the ruling Bharatiya Janta Party.
He started his political journey with BJP’s student wing and went on to become a state legislator three times before he defected to rival Samajwadi party.
Born and brought up in Varanasi, UP, Rai who considers himself a ‘local’ was keen to contest the federal seat of Varanasi for BJP in 2009. When he was denied the chance, he quit the party.
He fought as a Samajwadi Party candidate against BJP’s Murli Manohar Joshi but lost.
Rai later joined the Congress and fought and won from the Pindra constituency (state-level) in 2012.
In 2014, Rai contested against Narendra Modi from Varanasi, this time on a Congress ticket but lost.
In 2015, Ajay Rai was arrested for his alleged role in clashes in Varanasi over a ban on the immersion of Ganesha idols in the Ganga river. He was released seven months later on bail.
Two years later, in 2017 he lost the state elections from Pindra as a Congress candidate.
He is now all set to fight the electoral battle against the Indian PM, once again.
“I am honoured the Congress leadership has chosen me and trusted me as a candidate for the constituency of Varanasi,” Mr Rai said to a local website after his nomination announcement.
The Indian National Congress (INC) named him as a candidate for Varanasi on Thursday, ending all speculations that Congress President Rahul Gandhi’s younger sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra might clash with Narendra Modi.
Before the party made it official, there was a strong buzz that Priyanka Gandhi Vadra would be the Congress candidate against PM Modi in Varanasi.
Meanwhile, Indian PM Modi is campaigning in Varanasi to seek votes for the second time. He will file his nomination on Friday.
