Thousands line streets for PM’s roadshow in Varanasi 

As he attempts an epoch-making third-successive term at the Centre, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday held a 5-km roadshow in the Varanasi Lok Sabha seat constituency, from where he is set to file his nomination papers for the general election on Tuesday. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath accompanied him on the truck during the roadshow that was attended by thousands.

“Till now, he [Mr. Modi] has been holding roadshows for different candidates of the National Democratic Alliance [NDA], today he is here as our candidate,” said Vaibhav Mishra, a Varanasi resident who was waiting for the roadshow to start at Lanka Chowk, where a statue of Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya was to be garlanded by the Prime Minister before the start of the event.

Mr. Modi, dressed in a saffron kurta and white jacket, acknowledged the large crowds on both sides of the streets as he passed by. The route was dotted with various welcome points, where representatives of various communities from across the country, including the Muslim community of the city, welcomed Mr. Modi.

His cavalcade was preceded by a march of around 5,000 women, a symbolic representation of the Modi government’s identification with welfare and other programmes for women. At one of the welcome points, Padma Shri awardee Soma Ghosh held a live performance of her songs. Drumbeats and vedic mantras were part of the playlist for the roadshow.

Decorated with flowers, the route had big pictures of not just the ancient history of the city, but also the development work done by Mr. Modi in his parliamentary constituency. “After Modiji became MP from Kashi [Varanasi] we have got better roads, clean ghats, a cancer hospital, a modern, clean railway station, the Rudraksh Convention Centre, and how can we forget, the Kashi Vishwanath Corridor,” said Gullu Shukla, a tour guide in the city.

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It was in fact at the Kashi Vishwanath temple that the roadshow terminated, with Mr. Modi offering prayers at the temple dedicated to Lord Shiva. The revamped Kashi Vishwanath temple and its accompanying corridor to the river Ganga, was one of the major achievements of Mr. Modi as MP, a gigantic project costing around ₹339 crore.

Mr. Modi will be filing his nomination papers on Tuesday morning with all major NDA leaders, including Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and his Maharashtra counterpart Eknath Shinde, expected to be present for the occasion.