(FE)
Caretaker Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit his parliamentary constituency Varanasi on Monday to thank the voters for reposing faith in him once again in the just-concluded Lok Sabha elections. This would be Modi’s first visit to Varanasi after the declaration of the Lok Sabha elections results by the Election Commission of India where he led the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to a super-sized victory for a second term in office. Modi’s message of nationalism, Hindu pride and the idea of new India was overwhelmingly embraced by voters with the BJP pocketing 303 seats on its own, 21 more than its 2014 tally of 82. The NDA secured 352 seats 543-member Lok Sabha.
Modi also retained his Varanasi seat, beating his nearest Samajwadi Party rival Shalini Yadav by a margin of 4.80 votes. As per the schedule announced by the BJP, Modi will reach the Lal Bahadur Shastri International Airport in Babatpur near Varanasi at 9:30 am. From here, Modi will reach police lines by a special chopper. At 10:30 am, Modi will offer special prayers to Lord Shiva at the Kashi Vishwanath temple which stands on the bank of river Ganga and is one of the twelve Jyotirlingas. Modi is also likely to address the people of Varanasi who voted for him in the elections. According to the BJP, Modi will be joined by party president Amit Shah and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath when he arrives in the city. On Sunday, Modi was in Gujarat where he addressed the party workers and met his mother.
