The fight between AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal and BJP's Prime
Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi for supremacy in this temple town
has divided students of IIT, Varanasi into two camps who will campaign
for their chosen candidate in their own ways.
"I would have supported Kejriwal, but I was not happy with the
way he performed in Delhi. He should have proved himself. Running a
nation involves a lot of things which includes your economic and other
policies. Modi is a tested brand and he has shown his mettle in
Gujarat," says 21-year-old Archit Bindal. Bindal, an electrical branch
student at the IIT whose establishment is intimately linked with that of
the Banaras Hindu University (BHU), will along with other
Modi-supporter friends campaign in his own way. He, however, maintains
that if given a choice between AAP and BJP in Delhi, he would prefer the
new party and give it a second chance.
Preetam Machi (22), another Modi supporter, a fourth year mining
student says, "Congress is out of race." "Just in case AAP gets in a
position to form the government it cannot form the government without
Congress. So what is the use of supporting AAP here?" he wonders.
Modi-Kejriwal battle splits IIT Varanasi students into 2 camps
Prabhakar Gautam (21), another fourth year student from electrical
branch and an AAP volunteer on campus, says he was inspired by
Kejriwal's book 'Swaraj'. He also wants the former civil servant to win
elections from Varanasi. "I know it is a one-sided contest here and it
is going to be a tough battle for AAP. A majority of our students on
campus are Modi supporters. Despite this, I want Kejriwal to be in the
Lok Sabha and play a role of an effective opposition," Gautam says. On
campus, he canvasses for the party and is planning to actively campaign
for Kejriwal in the run-up to the election.
Despite the two camps, these tech students engage in healthy
political debate every evening outside their hostels. They discuss about
the leaders' vision for the country and other aspects like economic and
foreign policy.
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