Seeking votes for a missing candidate

Nurturing dreams to check the BJP juggernaut in Uttar Pradesh, the Samajwadi Party (SP)-BSP-RLD grand alliance leaders find themselves in quandary while campaigning in Ghosi Lok Sabha constituency in the eastern region of the state.

While the alliance leaders have been criss-crossing the constituency urging the electorate to vote for their candidate, their nominee has been missing.

The alliance nominee Atul Rai against whom a local court issued a non-bailable warrant (NBW) after a complaint of rape was lodged against him, has been absconding for the past over a week.

A student of a college in Varanasi has alleged that Rai had raped her at his flat in the temple town. Three police teams have been formed to trace the alliance candidate.

Rai went missing after the Allahabad High court and later supreme court rejected his anticipatory bail applications.

Rai has refuted the charges and claimed that the victim tried to ''blackmail'' him. Rai's brother Pawan Rai has also defended him.

While BSP supremo Mayawati has termed the allegations as a ''conspiracy'' hatched by the BJP, the saffron party has gone all out to attack the alliance on the issue.

Prime minister Narendra Modi also raked up the issue at his election rally at Mau on Thursday and asked the electorate not to support a ''rape accused'' candidate.

Though the caste equations favour the alliance in the constituency, the allegation of rape and the absence of Rai may hit its electoral prospects.

In 2014 LS polls, BJP had secured 3.80 lakh while its nearest rival BSP had got 2.33 lakh. The SP nominee had then secured 1.65 lakh.

It remains to be seen if the missing alliance nominee gets the support of the electorate. Polling at Ghosi would be held on Sunday.