GENERAL ELECTIONS 2014
Varanasi has been a neglected
constituency. The city has seen almost no development in the last 25 years.
The civic infrastructure is in mess. It is tainting its
spiritual aspect, the lifeline of Banaras and
the pivot of Indian Spiritualism.
There are no roads or there are roads trying to find the
smooth patches on the continuum of concrete rubble that creates a hazy
kaleidoscope when mixed with the dust found on every walkable stretch of the
city, a panorama that obstructs the view and chokes the senses.
Varanasi is, technically, a metro city now for many years
and the basic civic amenities that should be for a metro city that is also a
global tourism attraction - piped water, piped gas, 24-hour electricity, a
proper city transport, an efficient administration for health and educational
facilities, a modern airport – these basic requirements are a far cry for the
city that is one of the major contributors to India’s tourism earning; a city
that is educational, spiritual and cultural hub; a city that is one of the very
few places in the world having seen the shades of human civilization since the
human civilization began.
And Varanasi’s tourism
potential owes its genesis to the Ganga and
Lord Shiva and the in-built religious and spiritual ecosystem around it.
But, the Ganga is as
neglected as the whole city has been. Even an ardent devotee thinks twice
before taking the dip in the holy water that flows through the ghats of Varanasi.
And politicians have been responsible for it.
Apart from the brief stints of the governments of Kalyan
Singh and Rajnath Singh, Uttar Pradesh has had SP or BSP governments in the
last 25 years or so.
But the city has chosen to continue with the BJP. Congress
did win in 2004 but it was more of a BJP loss than a Congress win. The Varanasi parliamentary
constituency has shown no interest in the two regional parties in these 25 years
making the UP governments largely apathetic to the city’s concerns.
And the resultant attitude of the ruling political class has
pushed the city to a development abyss.
To come out of it, keeping in mind the fact that there is
still an SP government in Lucknow that is to continue
till 2017, the city needs a political representative who can bring it back to
the path of development; a political representative who is determined and resourceful
enough to bypass the obstructions posed by the government of Lucknow.