Who is Ajay Rai, Congress Candidate Contesting Against PM Modi for 3rd Time in Varanasi?

New Delhi: The Congress on Saturday released its fourth list of candidates featuring names of 45 candidates for the ensuing Lok Sabha elections, fielding party's Uttar Pradesh president against Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Varanasi and former Madhya Pradesh CM Digvijaya Singh from Rajgarh. 

Varanasi Lok Sabha seat has been represented by the Prime Minister since 2014 and it's for the third consecutive time that Rai will contest against PM Modi from the segment. In the last two general elections- 2014 and 2019, Rai faced defeat with huge margin on the Varanasi seat.

Who is Ajay Rai?

Ajay Rai kickstarted his career with RSS student wing ABVP and on BJP ticket, he won the UP Assembly elections from the Kolasla seat three times in a row between 1996 and 2007. 

After being denied a Lok Sabha ticket from the BJP, miffed Rai jumped ship to Samajwadi Party. Serving five-time as a MLA, Rai later joined the Congress in 2012 and won the UP assembly elections from the Pindra constituency. 

In 2017, he lost the Assembly election from the Pindra seat on Congress ticket. 

In 2014 and 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Rai had challenged PM Modi from the Varanasi segment but lost both the times. In August 2023, he was named as the new president of the Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee (UPCC), replacing Dalit leader Brijlal Khabri.

Lok Sabha Elections 2024

The election for 543 Lok Sabha seats will commence in seven phases starting April 19. Various parties have declared their initial lists for the elections, which will conclude on June 1. The counting of votes will take place on June 4.

In the 2019 Lok Sabha election, the BJP won 303 seats, while the Indian National Congress (INC) managed to secure only 52 seats. In the 2014 Lok Sabha election, the BJP won 282 seats, while the INC secured only 44 seats.