Paswan eyes UP assembly polls, to visit Varanasi

New Delhi: Lok Janshakti Party leader Ram Vilas Paswan will visit Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh for three days from Saturday, party sources said on Friday.

“It will be a purely political engagement as Paswan will address party workers during his visit,” the sources said.

Paswan, who is union food minister, will also address a meeting of the Dalit Sena, a social organisation of the Dalits he founded in 1990s.

His visit to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s constituency is considered politically important as Paswan’s party could ask for seats to contest the 2017 assembly polls as a National Democratic Alliance constituent.

“Paswan is an important Dalit leader and, therefore, the LJP will be useful to take on the Bahujan Samaj Party led by Mayawati,” sources said.

The Bharatiya Janata Party, which prefers to go alone in Uttar Pradesh, had an understanding with Apna Dal, a caste-based party catering to Kurmi community, in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls.

Out of the 80 Lok Sabha seats in UP, the BJP won 71 while the Apna Dal bagged two seats.

–IANS