No Priyanka v/s Modi in Varanasi, Congress fields Ajay Rai

It was Priyanka's statement which kicked off reports about her possible candidature. When she was campaigning for her mother Sonia Gandhi in Raebareli, cadres suggested that Priyanka should contest polls from there. She then half-wittingly, replied, "Why not Varanasi?"

Her subsequent statements showed Priyanka wasn't completely averse to the idea and would want to make her electoral debut from an important constituency.

The possibility of a giant clash in Varanasi piqued interests. However, Priyanka kept reiterating that the final decision would be taken by brother Rahul.

"I will leave you in suspense. Suspense is not always a bad thing," Rahul had said in an interview last week.

Reports claimed Congress was divided over Priyanka's candidature and Sonia didn't like the idea at all.

Congress' mega announcement, which ended in a dud, came on the day when PM Modi is headed to Varanasi. He will file his nomination on Friday but before that, he will hold a mega roadshow.

The show of strength is likely to begin after 2 PM. The 6 km-long roadshow will start at BHU and end at Dashashwamedh Ghat.

He will also perform puja.

While Varanasi Lok Sabha seat is revered, Congress' decision qualifies as a lazy one. To recall, Rai had contested against PM Modi in 2014 as well.

Surprisingly, he had received fewer votes than Arvind Kejriwal, the AAP chief who had just gained national prominence at the time.

Meanwhile, SP-BSP-RLD's candidate for Varanasi is Shalini Yadav, daughter-in-law of a former Congress lawmaker.