Prime Minister Narendra Modi As he filed his nomination papers in Varanasi on Tuesday, intense interest surrounds the identity of the four nominees.
Prime Minister Modi’s nominees were chosen keeping in mind the inclusion of all sections of the Brahmin, Other Backward Classes (OBC), and Dalit communities. While three of the proposers were in the background, only Ganeshwar Shastri Dravid, an astrologer and Brahmin, was on the Prime Minister’s side when he filed his nomination for the district collector’s office.
The Prime Minister was accompanied by BJP National President JP Nadda, Defense Minister Rajnath Singh, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Uttar Pradesh BJP President Bhupendra Chaudhary, Chief Ministers Yogi Adityanath, Pushkar Singh Thami, Mohan Yadav and Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde. , Janasena Party leader Pawan Kalyan, former Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh Chandrababu Naidu and other leaders from National Democratic Alliance participated.
Here are the details of the 4 nominees:
Ganeshwar Shastri Dravid
Ganeshwar Shastri Dravid (66), a renowned Vedic scholar and a resident of Varanasi’s Ram Ghat area. Ganeshwar Shastri Dravid was earlier given the task of deciding the “Mugurtha (modern)” for the Ram Temple Kumbhaishekam in Ayodhya in January, the “Bhumi Puja” for the temple in August 2020 and the Kashi Vishwanath Pavement in February 2022.
According to BJP internal affairs, Ganeshwar Shastri Dravid was asked to decide the Mukurtha time for Kumbabhishekam with an idea to “bridge the gap between the Hindus of North and South India”.
Hailing from Thiruvisanallur village in Tamil Nadu, Ganeshwar Shastri Dravid’s ancestors migrated to Varanasi in the 19th century. His father Lakshman Shastri is credited with establishing Sri Vallabram Shaligram Sangved Vidyalaya at Ramgat.
Apart from astrological knowledge, Ganeshwar Shastri Dravid is known for his expertise in Krishna Yajurveda, Shukla Yajurveda and Nyaya Shastra.
Sanjay Chongar
Sanjay Sonkar, 50, is the Zilla Mahamandri of BJP’s Varanasi unit. Sanjay Sonkar belongs to the Sonkar community classified as a Scheduled Caste. After meeting Modi during the 2022 assembly election campaign, he has been on the lookout. Sanjay Sonkar is a resident of Varanasi and a longtime member of the BJP.
Lalchand Kushwaha
Lalchand Kushwaha, 65, a textile shop owner, belongs to the OBC Kushwaha caste and lives in the cantonment area of Varanasi. Lalchand Kushwaha is BJP’s Varanasi zone in-charge.
Baijnath Patel
Baijnath Patel is a long-time RSS stalwart and started his political journey with the Jana Sangh. Baijnath Patel, a resident of Sevapuri area of Varanasi, belongs to the OBC community. He has previously served as head of Harshosh village.