It is going to be Jawan versus Chowkidar in Varanasi Lok Sabha constituency from where dismissed Border Security Force constable Tej Bahadur Yadav will be Samajwadi Party candidate against Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The Samajwadi Party, in a tactical move, has changed its Varanasi candidate Shalini Yadav and has now fielded Tej Bahadur Yadav to take on the Prime Minister.
After Congress refused to field Priyanka Gandhi Vadra against Modi, SP turned the battle into a Jawan versus Chowkidar contest.
After filing his nomination paper, Tej Bahadur Yadav said, “The issues of Samajwadi Party are mine and now I am the candidate of the party as I have filed my nomination on the party’s symbol. We are fighting for farmers and soldiers of the country.”
Tej Bahadur Yadav, the BSF constable who was dismissed from service in 2017 after he released a video of the poor quality of food served to BSF jawans posted in Jammu and Kashmir, had earlier said when Modi came to power in 2014 that people had high hopes that he would end corruption.
“Considering the assurance, I wrote to the PMO, Home Ministry, DG BSF and Human Rights Commission several times to bring out the discrepancies and corruption in BSF. Instead of taking any action, the authorities started harassing me,” he said.
“I was eventually dismissed from the BSF. This makes it clear that the PM is hand in gloves with the corrupt. On one hand, he claims that he is fighting corruption and, on the other, he is finishing those who are fighting against corruption,” the agitated former BSF constable said.
In 2017, the BSF had set up a court of inquiry against Yadav after he claimed in a viral video that the dal served to them was watery and the chapatis were burnt.
An investigation was ordered into the incident by the Union Home Ministry and the PMO had sought a report. Yadav was shifted out of LoC and was later on dismissed on charges of indiscipline.
When asked why he was contesting against Modi and no other BJP minister, the ex-BSF constable said, “I lost my son in January, now I have nothing to lose. I have only one option and that is to reach Parliament and raise the voice of the security personnel. That is why I have decided to contest election against PM Narendra Modi.”
Sharing his action plan for the election, Yadav claimed to have the support of at least 10,000 retired security personnel. “We don’t have money to fight elections, also now I don’t have a job. Our only way to reach people is through door-to-door campaign and we will do that. We will tell the people the reality of the claims that Modiji makes about doing welfare of the jawans. We have the backing of around 10,000 retired security personnel who have pledged their support to me along with some social organisations,” he said.
