Prime Minister Narendra Modi filed his nomination for Varanasi Lok Sabha constituency here on Friday.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday filed his nomination for Varanasi Lok Sabha constituency. He did so in presence of all the senior leaders of BJP and NDA and also NEDA.
In the morning PM Modi visited the Kal Bhairav temple and later addressed BJP workers meet. Later he went to the collectorate's office to file the nomination. After filing of nomination, PM Modi said, "I deeply express gratitude towards people of Kashi. They have again blessed me after 5 years. Such a grand roadshow yesterday was possible only in Kashi". PM also warned BJP workers and supporters against complacency saying, "Aisa mahaul kuch log ab banane lage hain ki Modi ji toh jeet gaye aur vote nahi karoge toh chalega. Kripa karke aise logon ki bataon mein mat aiye. Matdaan apka haq hai, loktanta ek utsav hai, zada se zada matdaan karna chahiye desh mazboot karne ke liye."
PM Modi is contesting against Congress' Ajay Rai and SP leader Shalini Yadav. Congress on Thursday had announced that it would field Rai as its candidate from the Varanasi Lok Sabha seat, putting to rest speculation regarding Priyanka GandhiVadra contesting the general elections against Prime Minister Modi. This would be the second time Prime Minister Modi and Rai will battle from Varanasi seat.
In the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, Prime Minister Modi won from Varanasi by a margin of 3.37 lakh votes. AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal and Rai were among the candidates from the seat. While Kejriwal came in the second place, Rai stood third in the vote tally.
Varanasi will go to polls on May 19 in the last phase of the Lok Sabha elections. The counting of votes will take place on May 23.
1. NDA family in attendance during PM Modi's nomination
#WATCH: PM Narendra Modi files nomination from Varanasi parliamentary constituency. #LokSabhaElections2019 pic.twitter.com/ym9x2gCYYG
— ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) April 26, 2019
2. PM files nomination
#WATCH: PM Narendra Modi meets NDA leaders at Collectorate office ahead of filing his nomination from Varanasi parliamentary constituency. pic.twitter.com/xVfO9kovHP
— ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) April 26, 2019
3. PM Modi meets NDA leaders at the Collectorate
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4. Top NDA leaders in Varanasi
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Many of the senior leaders of allies of BJP are present today to make a grand spectacle and promote a message of cohesion and unity. PM Modi held similar mega road shows in 2014 - both before and after winning the constituency in the 16th Lok Sabha elections. Three years later, the Prime Minister hit the streets of Varanasi for campaigning during the Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls.
NDA leaders arrive at Collectorate Office in Varanasi ahead of PM Modi's nomination filing. #LokSabhaElections2019 pic.twitter.com/OB0MJamc5E
— ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) April 26, 2019
5. PM visits Kal Bhairav temple in Varanasi
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Ahead of going to the collectorate office to file nomination, PM Modi went to Kal Bhairav temple in Varanasi to seek blessings.
6. PM Modi addressed workers before filing nomination
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PM Modi said that he is not concerned about the margin. PM says the world will not ask about it,as it is given a PM will win his election. PM says that all he is interested to ensure that democracy wins.
Alluding to Priyanka Gandhi not contesting from Varanasi, PM said,"Kis party se kaun umeedwar hai, kripa karke yeh charcha mat karen, har umeedwar sammaniye hai, woh bhi loktantra ko mazboot banane ke liye maidan mein aya hai, woh humara dushman nahi hai"
Essentially PM said that workers shouldn't think about which party is fielding which candidate. He said all nominees work towards strenghtening democracy and they are not enemy".
PM also said that Varanasi election should be such that political pundits will consider writing a book about it.
7. Supporters during Modi roadhshow
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A day before, the Prime Minister held a grand roadshow in Varanasi along with Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Union Minister JP Nadda, UP and Delhi BJP chiefs, Mahendra Nath Pandey and Manoj Tiwari.
The roadshow began after paying his tributes at Pt Madan Mohan Malviya's statue outside Banaras Hindu University. The rally, stretching over 6km, had passed through Lanka and Madanpura areas of the city and end at the famed Dashashwamedh Ghat.
Before embarking on the roadshow, PM Modi had said that his scheduled programmes in "beloved Kashi" would give him an opportunity to interact with his "sisters and brothers" of the town.
"After bumper rallies in Darbhanga and Banda, I am heading to beloved Kashi. There are a series of programmes lined up, which would give me another excellent opportunity to interact with my sisters and brothers of Kashi. Har Har Mahadev!" Modi had tweeted.
(Image-Reuters)
8. PM did Ganga Arati on Thursday
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Later in the evening, PM Modi also participated in the Ganga Aarti on the banks of the holy river. After that, he had an interaction with select intellectuals at Hotel De Paris.
(Image-PTI)
