Varanasi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday filed his nomination from the Varanasi Lok Sabha seat after offering prayers at the Dashashwamedh Ghat and the Kaal Bhairav temple here.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath was among those present at the collectorate when Modi filed his papers.
He is eyeing a hattrick in the Varanasi Lok Sabha seat, which he had won for the first time in 2014.
In a post in Hindi on X, Modi said, “My relationship with my Kashi is amazing, inseparable and incomparable… all I can say is that it cannot be expressed in words!”
The prime minister held a dazzling roadshow in Varanasi a day ago and vowed to do a lot more to serve the holy city in his third term. A day later, he posted a clip from his Monday’s roadshow on ‘X’ and said, “The love and blessings that my family members of Kashi showered on me during the road show has become an unforgettable moment in my life.”
Earlier, Prime Minister Narendra Modi offered prayers at Dashashwamedh Ghat on the banks of the Ganges in Varanasi and boarded a cruise to Namo Ghat to visit the Kal Bhairav Temple.
After performing Ganga Aarti and offering prayers to the River Ganga on the auspicious occasion of Ganga Saptami, the Prime Minister took a cruise trip to the Namo Ghat.
On board the cruise, in an exclusive interview with India Today, Modi said that “Maa Ganga” has adopted him and that he has had a 10-year bond with Varanasi.
“10 years ago, when I came to Kashi, I said, Maa Ganga has called me.. But in the last 10 years, Maa Ganga has adopted me. I do everything considering it as worship of God. In the last 10 years, the people of Kashi have made me a Banarasian. Seeing the love of people, I feel that my responsibilities are increasing every day. I am grateful for the people. I feel in my mind that God has chosen me and I do everything as an offering to God. I have dedicated my life to the 140 crore people,” the Prime Minister said.
He further said that the BJP-led NDA would cross 400 seats in the ongoing Lok Sabha polls.
Priest Santosh Narayan, who was present with PM Modi during the rituals performed by the Prime Minister at Dasaswamedh Ghat, said, “We have given him the blessings of massive victory in all the phases of the ongoing elections.”
Another priest, Raaman, who was present, said, “Ganga puja was performed today. This puja was done for the welfare of the country and that his next term is successful and the country gets recognition globally.”
Varanasi is the stronghold of the Bharatiya Janata Party and PM Modi. He won the seat twice–in the 2014 and 2019 Lok Sabha elections.The Congress has pitted Uttar Pradesh Congress chief Ajay Rai against PM Modi in Varanasi. This is the third time Ajay Rai will face PM Modi in the Lok Sabha contest.
In the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, PM Modi won the seat with over 6,74,664 votes and commanded a vote share of 63.6 percent. In 2014, PM Modi contested two Lok Sabha seats–from Gujarat’s Vadodara and Uttar Pradesh’s Varanasi.
Voting in Varanasi will take place in the seventh phase on June 1.