VARANASI: PM Narendra
Modi
's four notable
proposers
came from upper castes,
OBCs
and SCs. The list included astrology scholar Ganeshwar Shastri Dravid, a revered Brahmin in Kashi who picked the muhurats for laying the foundation stone of the Ram Janmabhoomi temple in Ayodhya and the consecration of Ram Lalla's idol.
The second proposer, Lalchand Kushwaha, a textile shop owner and veteran BJP cadre from Cantt assembly area, brings the support of the traditional business community and OBC segment to Modi's nomination.
Sanjay Sonkar, aged 50 and serving BJP's district unit general secretary, is another key proposer. Hailing from City North assembly area, Sonkar's involvement highlights the support from the
Dalit
community, underlining the inclusive appeal of PM Modi's leadership across different social strata.
Baijnath Patel, an OBC from Sevapuri, is the fourth person to propose PM Modi's candidature, showing his broad backing in Varanasi from different social groups.
In the 2019 general election as well, the four proposers for PM Modi were from diverse backgrounds, including 91-year-old former BHU Mahila Mahavidyalaya principal Annapurna Shukla, Dom Raja (chief cremator) Jadish Choudhary, agricultural scientist Ramakant Shukla, and RSS worker Subhash Gupta.
Before filing his nomination in 2019, the PM had touched the feet of the 91-year-old Annapurna Shukla, whose research along with her professor's in the UK, from 1969 to 1972, led to a mandatory warning on baby food supplements in the UK - that they are no replacement for mother's milk. For the first time, a man in the profession of lighting funeral pyres, Jadish Choudhary, was made a proposer of the PM.
Similarly, in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, PM Modi's proposers included Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya's grandson, Giridhar Malaviya, a retired judge of the Allahabad high court; Chhanulal Mishra, a noted classical singer of Banaras; Virbhadra Nishad, a boatman; and Ashok, representing the dominant weaver community in Varanasi.
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