It was Priyanka Gandhi’s decision not to contest from Varanasi : Sam Pitroda

New Delhi, Apr 26: A day after the party decided to re-field its 2014 candidate Ajay Rai from the Varanasi constituency, Congress leader Sam Pitroda on Friday said that the decision to not contest against PM Modi was taken by Priyanka Gandhi herself.

Speaking at a press conference in Jaipur, Indian Overseas Congress chief Sam Pitroda said that Priyanka has "other responsibilities" and she thought to "focus on her job and not on just one seat."

The chief of the Indian Overseas Congress said,''It (not contesting from Varanasi) was Priyanka ji's decision, she has other responsibilities. She thought rather than concentrating on one seat she should focus on the job she has at hand. So, that decision was her and she decided it.''

On Thursday, the day PM Modi held a mega roadshow in the constituency, the Congress decided to field Ajay Rai, who finished third with just 7% votes behind PM Modi and AAP's Arvind Kejriwal.

Rai is a five-time legislator and in 2014 too, he contested from Varanasi seat on Congress ticket against PM Modi.

In Varanasi, polling will be held in the last phase on May 19. The counting of votes will take place on May 23.