Lok Sabha elections: PM Modi files nomination from Varanasi, eyes third term

Varanasi (Uttar Pradesh), May 14: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday filed his nomination papers from the Varanasi Lok Sabha seat in Uttar Pradesh. The Prime Minister is seeking a third consecutive term from the constituency and hoping to win with a record margin.

PM Modi, the sitting MP and BJP's candiatate, filed his nomination papers at the district magistrate's office. Varansi will go in for polling in the seventh and last phase of the Lok Sabha polls on June 1. The counting of the votes will be held on June 4.

PM Modi arrived at the DM office in Varanasi clad in a full-sleeved white Kurta with white churidar and Blue jacket.

The PM was received by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Uttar Pradesh outside the Kal Bhairav temple. The Prime Minister was given a rousing welcome from people who showered flower petals and chanted slogans of 'Modi, Modi' and 'Har Har Mahadev' outside the temple.

Ahead of filing his nomination, he offered prayers at Dashashwamedh Ghat on the banks of the Ganges in the temple town and boarded a cruise to the Namo Ghat.

He offered prayers at the Kaal Bhairav Temple in Varanasi and was seen performing Aarti at the Temple.

PM Modi also performed Ganga Aarti, offering prayers to the River Ganga on the auspicious occasion of Ganga Saptami today.

A total of 25 NDA leaders attended the nomination of the Prime Minister including Union Home Minister Amit Shah, BJP National President JP Nadda, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Chief Minister of Meghalaya Conrad Sangma were also present.

The NDA leaders TDP chief Chandrababu Naidu, Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) National President Chirag Paswan, Nationalist Congress Party (Ajit Pawar faction) leader Praful Patel, Jana Sena Party president Pawan Kalyan, Hindustani Awam Morcha chief Jiten Ram Manjhi, President of the Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party Om Prakash Rajbhar, President of Rashtriya Lok Morcha, Upendra Kushwaha, Uttar Pradesh minister and Nishad party Chief Sanjay Nishad, Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Anupriya Patel, Pashupati Kumar Paras, Bhupendra Chaudhary, RLD chief Jayant Chaudhary, Tamil Maanila Congress President GK Vasan, Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) president Dr Anbumani Ramadoss, were present at the DM office in Varanasi.

Yesterday, PM Modi held the 5-km-long massive roadshow in Varanasi, a large number of women in saffron attire walked ahead of the vehicle in which Modi was standing.

PM Modi was accompanied by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and BJP state president Chaudhary Bhupendra Singh. The whole stretch reverberated with 'Har Har Mahadev' and 'Jai Shree Ram' chants as a huge crowd of supporters and residents gathered on either side of the road to cheer the Prime Minister.

The Varanasi seat comprises five Assembly segments, including Rohaniya, Varanasi North, Varanasi South, Varanasi Cantt, and Sevapuri. Varanasi is the stronghold of the Bharatiya Janata Party and PM Modi. This will be the most anticipated contest in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.

PM Modi won the constituency with resounding majority in both the 2014 and 2019 general polls.

This time he is facing Congress candidate Ajay Rai, who is the Opposition INDIA bloc's joint nominee against the Prime Minister. The UP Congress chief, Rai, was also fielded by the Congress against the PM in Varanasi in the 2014 and 2019 Lok Sabha polls, but he finished third both times.

This is the third time Ajay Rai will face Modi in a 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 per cent.

In 2014, Varanasi Lok Sabha constituency witnessed a clash between Narendra Modi, then the BJP's prime ministerial candidate and AAP chief and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. PM Modi won the elections with a margin exceeding 3 lakh votes.

In 2014, PM Modi contested two Lok Sabha seats- from Gujarat's Vadodara and Uttar Pradesh's Varanasi.