PM Modi files nomination from Varanasi for a third win

Varanasi, May 14 (IANS) Prime Minister Narendra Modi filed his nomination on Tuesday from Varanasi Lok Sabha seat, aiming for a larger victory margin compared to his previous two wins in 2014 and then in 2019.

The Prime Minister got down from his car at the gates of the district collectorate and walked to the office where he filed his nomination papers.

The four proposers of his nomination were Pandit Gyaneshwar Shastri, who has played a key role in the consecration ceremony of Ram temple, Baijnath Patel, Lalchand Kushwaha and Sanjay Sonkar.

UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath also accompanied the Prime Minister when he filed the nomination papers.

Ahead of filing his nomination, PM Modi had posted on X about his relationship with Kashi- "My relationship with my Kashi is amazing, inseparable, and incomparable... all I can say is that it cannot be expressed in words."

PM Modi followed a similar schedule of holding a massive roadshow in Varanasi the day before filing his nomination papers in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

Earlier in the day, the Prime Minister did 'Ganga Pujan' at Dashashwamedh Ghat and then boarded the cruise ship to NaMo Ghat. He visited the Kaal Bhairav temple and then went to file his nomination papers.

On Monday, PM Modi also held an extravagant roadshow in Varanasi on a five-kilometre stretch, surrounded by what can be described as a "sea" of over 100,000 saffron supporters.

He was accompanied by CM Adityanath and BJP state president Chaudhary Bhupendra Singh.

Besides, several Union ministers, including Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Home Minister Amit Shah, BJP president J. P. Nadda and presidents of various NDA members were present for the occasion.

Those present included CM Adityanath, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, MP Chief Minister Mohan Yadav, his Chhattisgarh counterpart Vishnu Deo Sai and Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.

Besides, Rajasthan Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma, his Assam counterpart Himanta Biswa Sarma, Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini, his Goa counterpart Pramod Sawant, Sikkim Chief Minister Prem Singh Tamang and his Tripura counterpart Manik Saha were also there.

Leaders of NDA constituents RLD chief Jayant Chaudhary, Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) chief Chirag Paswan, Apna Dal (S) president Anupriya Patel and SBSP president Om Prakash Rajbhar and other leaders were also present on the occasion.

PM Modi briefly interacted with the guests after filing his nomination papers.

Later, Prime Minister went to the Rudraksh Convention Centre where he interacted with local party workers.

Varanasi will go to polls in the final phase of the ongoing Lok Sabha elections, scheduled for June 1.